Arsenal are ramping up their interest in Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka in view to a January transfer window move.
Arsene Wenger knows his squad is a little short at the moment owing to all the injuries – a fair few of them long-term – and the Arsenal manager is focussing particularly on strengthening the defensive midfield department.
"We are open-minded," Wenger said when asked if Arsenal will sign players during the January transfer window.
"We are not the only ones who can decide about the speed of the transfers because we have to adapt to the availabilities and the speed of negotiations and the willingness of clubs to sell.
"We are open to do something because we are short."
William Carvalho and Ruben Neves have been the names doing the rounds, with Arsenal reportedly keeping tabs on the two Portuguese midfielders through this season so far.
However, with Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto likely to ask hefty fees for Carvalho and Neves respectively, Arsenal are also looking elsewhere, chiefly Germany.
Xhaka is a midfielder, who has hugely improved in recent seasons, and Arsenal had the 23-year-old watched in the Champions League game against Manchester City, according to the Daily Mail.
Wenger is keen on completing the signing of a defensive midfielder in January and Xhaka, who has been with Monchengladbach since 2012, could fit the bill.
Victor Wanyama has also caught Wenger's eye, but it is highly unlikely that Southampton, who rejected a bid from Spurs in the summer, will be willing to sell their midfielder, especially in January.
With the new Premier League deal coming into play from next season as well, the bigger clubs of England will find it increasingly difficult to persuade other Premier League sides to sell, unless they make an outrageous offer. And as we all know, Wenger and Arsenal will not make one of those.
So, it does look like being one of Carvalho, Neves or Xhaka.
