Arsene Wenger to be Handed £20m Bounty to Spend in January

Arsene Wenger will be provided with a £20m bounty to spend on further reinforcements in the January transfer window, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Gunners are in the market for a defender to provide cover for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscileny with Calum Chambers occupied in the right-back role following a long-term injury to Mathieu Debuchy.

The French right-back ruptured his ankle ligament during the course of the season and will be unavailable till the beginning of the New Year.

Nacho Monreal, who was incorporated in the centre of defence in pre-season, is also out with injury, leaving the Gunners quite light at the back and having to rely on youngsters such as Hector Bellerin to deputise for his seniors.

The situation has left Wenger with no other choice but to splash the cash again and resurrect Arsenal's quest for title glory.

In their recent state, an injury to either Koscileny or Mertesacker will dash their hopes of closing the nine- point gap on Chelsea, with the Gunners currently in their bare bones with a number of injuries across different positions in the field.

The Gunners will be boosted by the imminent return to fitness of Theoi Walcott, who missed a major part of the year after succumbing to an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Tottenham in the third round of the FA Cup.

Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta are also close to a return but an injury to Mesut Ozil, which will keep him out for three months, has brought further gloom to the campaign.

The Gunners spent close to £60m in the summer, the bulk of which went into securing the services of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, coupled with deals for Debuchy, Chambers, David Ospina and Danny Welbeck.

However, with Arteta ageing and Mathieu Flamini not living up to expectations, a certain amount of money has to be reserved to bring in a defensive midfielder, the absence of whom has cost the Gunners dearly this season.