Arsene Wenger confirms interest in Ipswich Town defender Tyrone Mings

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Gunners are tracking Ipswich Town youngster Tyrone Mings among others ahead of the January transfer window.

Reports had linked the north London club with an £8m move for the versatile English defender, who has played a key role in his club's rise to second place in the Championship table.

Mings, who can play in any position across the back four, has garnered a lot of attention due to his impressive performances this season, and apart from the Gunners, Premier League rivals Chelsea were also credited with interest to sign the defender.

Arsenal have been suffering a major injury crisis, mainly to their defence and an injury to Laurent Koscielny saw backup left-back Nacho Monreal play in the central defensive role, until the Frenchman's return recently. Wenger had indicated earlier in the summer that his team were short defensively and that he would make a signing during the January window to rectify the problem.

The French manager confirmed that he is tracking the young Ipswich defender, but also stated that he is not the only player they are following, as they have their eyes on various other unnamed young players as well.

"He is one of the players we follow, but we are not close to signing anybody at the moment," Wenger said, as quoted by talkSPORT.

"We are not on any special case. We are on a few young players yes, that we always follow," the Gunners boss added.

Meanwhile, Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker is happy to have his regular defensive partner Laurent Koscielny back in the team. He also hailed his colleague as a great defender, who commands a lot of respect from his teammates for his work on the pitch.

"It's great to have him back. There's a good partnership between us but also the team trusts him because he's a great centre back and a great lad," Mertesacker told Arsenal's official site.

The German international also spoke about their partnership at the heart of the Arsenal back four and believes the different qualities that they possess is the reason they complement each other well.

"We have different qualities and that fits really well together. We try to keep that and remind ourselves there is still something to improve but there's a good partnership and that's good for the core of the team. We think that can help everyone."

"Laurent has speed and ability to build up from the back, which fits with Arsenal. Maybe I've got different qualities, but those qualities together make us a good partnership," the former Werder Bremen defender added.