There are two days left of the transfer window. In today's press conference, Arsène Wenger confirmed again that he is looking for reinforcements of the first team squad.
Stating quite forcefully that Barcelona has said David Villa is not for sale, the manager at the same time confirmed that a bid or at least an enquiry has been made. Asked a direct question about there being any possible leeway in Barcelona's stance, Wenger answered with a simple "No"!
Later, with a cheeky grin he wouldn't admit to admitting Villa as an Arsenal target, but that's just semantics.
Far more interesting was Wenger's passionate defence of not signing players for the sake of making up the numbers in the first team squad:
When you speak to me, "anyone in?", it's just like you go out and you buy anyone just to make... give people hope. I think what is important is that you bring in players who can strengthen your team. Or you do nothing, and you're strong enough to do nothing.
And that is what's important for us. I've always said that. What is important is to bring a player in who can strengthen the squad. "Anyone" for me means just exactly what, today, the modern game has become.
My impression is that the Arsenal management see the weaknesses, especially when it comes to squad depth, and try to rectify. A striker, implied by the attempt to sign Villa, looks to be a priority.
There are a surplus of midfielders, hence Emmanuel Frimpong was allowed to join Fulham, but getting in more options in defence is another possibility.
Asked about his favorite deadline day memory (!), Wenger looked back on a year and a half ago, when five players were signed in two days. This window, I wouldn't expect any panic buys like some of those.
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