Arsene Wenger Targets One More Defensive Signing

Arsene Wenger is reportedly tracking Schalke's Benedikt Howedes, Wolfsburg's Luiz Gustavo and Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho as he targets at least one more signing before the end of the transfer window.

According to the Telegraph, the Gunners are looking at bringing in a defensive signing, someone who is equally comfortable in the middle of the park as well as the back to replace Thomas Vermaelen, who completed his move to Barcelona recently.

Arsenal currently have only Calum Chambers as a readymade back up for first-choice centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertascker, and Wenger is keen to add more strength to the back line. The north London club were also recently linked with a move for Olympiacos defender Kostas Manolas.

However, it's the three above mentioned players who are high on Wenger's list and he will hope to land one of them this summer.

Howedes was one of the only three players to feature in every minute of every game in Germany's World Cup triumph and even though he played at left-back for his country, he is a central defender by trade and plays there on a regular basis for Schalke in the Bundesliga.

The German club will be reluctant to part with the player who is also their captain, but the lure of playing with his compatriots and at a higher level might tempt him to consider a switch to the Premier League.

Carvalho on the other hand, is regarded as a great prospect and even though he mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, he can adapt to the central defenders role and Wenger is a keen admirer of the player. There were reports suggesting that a bid was made, but that was quickly shot down by Sporting.

The third player on the Frenchman's list is Brazilian midfielder Gustavo, who was linked with Arsenal in 2013 when he decided to leave Bayern Munich, but he chose to stay in Germany with Wolfsburg rather than move to England.

Similarly like the other two targets, Gustavo can play in multiple positions in defence and was a key member in the Brazil squad at this summer's World Cup.

The report suggests that with Wenger having already spent upwards of £60m this transfer window bringing in four new players, he might have to sell first in order to spend again. But it is believed that the £15m raised with the sale of Vermaelen to the Catalan club will be available to the Gunners boss to bring in a replacement.