Arsenal Transfer News: Wenger Close to First January Signing as Player Reveals Talks

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to complete a signing after St Etienne defender Loic Perrin admitted he has been contacted by the English Premier League club over a potential move in the January transfer window.

Perrin was recently linked with a transfer to Arsenal, with St Etienne manager even admitting he would consider the sale of his player if an acceptable offer from the North London side were to come in.

Now it looks like there is definitely some substance in the rumours after all, with the 29-year-old himself revealing he has talked to Arsenal over a proposed move in January.

"I was contacted personally," he told Le Progres after leading St Etienne to victory over Nancy on Sunday. "Arsenal are interested.

"But for now, there is still no contact with Saint-Etienne."

St Etienne manager Christophe Galtier a few days back said he was aware of Arsenal's interest and  a sale could well be on the cards.

"Loic is a special case that I will look after personally," he said. "I'm not saying the door is open but if a surprising offer is made we would have to listen to Loic and his wishes.

"He is a player who has spent all of his career at the club. Arsenal are a big club in a big league."

That probably means that Arsenal have made contact with the club as well, with the news probably not trickling down to the player.

Perrin is a reliable centre-back, who is also capable of playing in defensive midfield, the two positions that Arsenal desperately need to strengthen in January.

Arsenal have been linked with several names in the January transfer window to fill that centre-back position, including Mats Hummels and Winston Reid, who looks like he is on his way out of West Ham.

While Reid will give Arsenal Premier League experience and Hummels that world class ability, Perrin could be a pretty decent option as a third-choice centre-back, or even fourth-choice if Wenger sees Calum Chambers as a central defender.

Buying Perrin for around a £4-6 million fee will also allow Wenger to spend more heavily on that midfielder, with the likes of William Carvalho, Morgan Schneiderlin and Grzegorz Krychowiak all heavily linked.

Carvalho is expected to cost Arsenal at least £20 million, while Schneiderlin and Krychowiak could prove to be more expensive, and if Wenger can broker a deal for Perrin for a reasonable fee, then the prospect of one of them joining could increase considerably.