Arsene Wenger has ruled out signing a new centre-half in January after Arsenal were linked with a bid for Chelsea defender Alex.
Arsenal boss has no plans to sign a centre-half in January
Arsene Wenger has ruled out signing a new centre-half in the January transfer window after Arsenal were linked with a bid for Chelsea defender Alex.
Brazil international Alex is set to leave Stamford Bridge in the New Year after Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas confirmed last weekend that a transfer request had been accepted.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has acknowledged an interest in Alex, but North London rivals Arsenal will not be joining any transfer chase.
"We will not be on the market for any centre-back, I can assure you," said Wenger in response to the speculation.
Consistency
Wenger improved his central defensive options by signing Per Mertesacker before the close of the summer transfer window and the Germany international is looking for more consistency from the Gunners.
Arsenal are currently suffering an injury crisis in the full-back positions, but Mertesacker feels the team will have to muddle through ahead of Saturday's game against Everton.
Mertesacker said: "We need more full-backs I think! It's not good for the squad if so many full-backs are injured, but what can I say?
"We have to manage the situation. We have had some bad situations with injuries in the last month but we managed quite well.
"We are looking forward to climbing the league more and more. We have had a lot of pressure to get to fifth in the last month but we need more consistency, in December more than ever.
"Therefore I hope we can pick up a lot of points to get to the top four. We want more than that, of course."
