Emery: Arsenal ‘working’ on deals to sign 2 players – hints £20m winger is a target

The January transfer window is open and managers are working hard on strengthening their squads and identifying targets for the summer so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest rumours. Today, Unai Emery has confirmed Arsenal are in the market for two players….

Unai Emery has confirmed Arsenal are working hard to sign a centre-back and winger this month and hinted Barcelona’s Denis Suarez is a target.

Emery has had to deal with a lengthy injury list throughout the season and we’ve been left with limited options in defence with Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Dinos Mavropanos, Nacho Monreal and Sokratis all spending time on the sidelines so far.

Rob Holding has also been ruled out for the rest of the campaign after suffering a serious knee ligament injury so the Arsenal boss has confirmed the club are ‘working’ to try and bring in another centre-back this month.

We’re also lacking in depth out wide in attack as Danny Welbeck will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is currently on the sidelines with a fractured foot.

Emery has confirmed the club are also in the market for another winger and suggested that Denis Suarez could be a target amid strong speculation claiming Arsenal are closing-in on a deal to sign the Barcelona man.

The Guardian reported on Saturday that Arsenal are in formal talks with Barca over a potential £20m deal while Sky Sports also claim we’re close to striking an agreement to sign the 25-year-old.

Emery said he didn’t know whether a deal was close but refused to play down the speculation and after confirming he was hoping to sign a winger this month, he reminded reporters that Suarez played on the wing while playing for him at Sevilla.

The boss told Arsenal.com:

on whether Denis Suarez is close to joining Arsenal…
I don’t know.

on whether Suarez is a player he would like…
I think the club is working for the possibility to bring in some players who can help us during this next four months of competition. It’s a different situation. If the transfer market can help us find a centre back, the possibility to bring them in is not easy because we also have Mavropanos coming back from injury. If we have the possibility to sign some important players, we can do it. At left or right winger, perhaps one player can help us in this position. We will only sign players who give us quality.

on whether Suarez is a winger or a central player…
He was playing as a left or right winger for Sevilla when he was with me.

It’s great to hear Arsenal are actively looking to sign a new centre-back as it’s clear we need to add more quality at the back while we also need to bring in more options on the wing.

However, I’m a little surprised to hear Emery refer to Suarez as a winger. The Spaniard may have spent time on the wing during his loan at Sevilla but he’s largely played as a central midfielder during his career and that’s considered to be his best position.

I had hoped the club were looking to sign an out-and-out winger, not bring in another central player who is capable of playing out wide if needed. We’ve shifted the likes of Mkhitaryan, Iwobi and Ramsey out wide at times but they all prefer to play in the middle. Arsenal really need a proper winger and I’m not convinced Suarez is the answer to our problems.