Usually, when that question of "so Arsene, will you be buying players in the transfer window" pops up, the Arsenal manager always gives a closed answer along the lines of "it depends on the quality available in the market and only if we can find an upgrade on what we have," which essentially means, maybe not.
However, for the first time in a while, Arsene Wenger gave an encouraging reply to that same question, admitting Arsenal will be busy in the January transfer window, looking for players to add to a squad, which has been hit by too many injuries yet again.
"I'll be busy, that's for sure," Wenger said when asked if the club plan to bring in a few new faces to the team next month. "I am already busy and I said already one month ago we are a bit short to deal with all the competitions we face, especially in midfield.
"We will be busy, yes."
The fact that Wenger has said he is already busy – considering this is the craziest time of the season in terms of games – could be a pointer towards Arsenal already agreeing on a deal for a midfielder, a midfielder who plies his trade currently for FC Basel and goes by the name of Mohamed Elneny.
Wenger neither confirmed nor denied Arsenal were close to the 23-year-old Egypt international's signing, with a fair few reports stating the midfielder has already completed a medical and agreed on a contract.
"Unfortunately we cannot announce anything at the moment about this player [Elneny] because nothing has been concluded," Wenger replied to the Elneny question.
For someone like Wenger, that is as close to an admission as they come, with the Arsenal manager also admitting Mathieu Debuchy could leave the Emirates in January in search of playing time, with the France international keen to make an impression on the pitch with Euro 2016 looming large. The right-back has been on the bench for most of the season, with Hector Bellerin preferred by the manager.
"It's not impossible [that Debuchy leaves]. I'm happy if he stays but we'll see."
