Arsenal Transfer News: Wenger Promises a Big Signing in January

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Gunners would try to land a high-profile defender in January, after admitting that he failed to do so in the summer.

The Gunners, who made the headlines by signing Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for a club record fee of £42.5 million last year, had also splashed out £32 million for signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona this time around.

Apart from that, Arsenal also spent a further £39 million this summer on the transfers of Danny Welbeck, Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers from Manchester United, Newcastle United and Southampton respectively.

However, despite feeling that Arsenal did "remarkably well" in the transfer market this summer, Wenger - who admitted that the club failed in their attempts to sign a marquee defender - insists that they will spend more cash on another big signing in January.

"We have done remarkably well in the transfer window," Wenger said, during Arsenal's annual general meeting. "We tried to buy one more, a defender, but we didn't find one. But we will try to rectify that in January."

Arsenal have been accused time and again for not spending enough money in the transfer market, in comparison to the other big clubs in the Premier League - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

However, Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis insists the club has not been "hoarding" stash of money for "some unspecified reason".

"It is simply not the case that we are hoarding a vast cash balance for some unspecified reason," Gazidis said. "We always have to keep cash in reserve to comply with debt calculations. Most remaining cash after that is needed to run the club across the season, including player wages."

"We do try to keep a further amount of cash available for investment in the team. We try not to disclose that amount, because it would be uncompetitive."

Another problem for the Gunners have been the injuries, with some key players - including Aaron Ramsey, Ozil, Debuchy and Olivier Giroud - facing lengthy spells on the sidelines, just weeks into the new campaign.

However, Wenger refused to point fingers at the club's medical team, insisting the injuries were caused due to the players suffering from fatigue after the 2014 World Cup.

"We have been hit hard by injuries again but, for me, they are post-World Cup injuries," the Frenchman added. "Not soft-tissue injuries, accidental ones."