Only Mohamed Elneny has been brought in to strengthen the Gunners

Only Mohamed Elneny has been brought in to strengthen the Gunners - did they need more in order to secure their first Premier League trophy since 2004?

Arsene Wenger predicted one of the busiest January transfer windows ever, but it has not turned out that way for Arsenal or their Premier League rivals.

It is somewhat surprising given what’s at stake, with the Gunners in with their best chance of winning the title for the first time since 2004. Neither Arsenal nor their nearest competitors took a gamble on a player that might make the difference in the final months of the season.

"The whole period was much quieter than I anticipated," Wenger said on Monday. "If possible, I would have been open to one more but there is a rarity of players."

Wenger will hope that he will end up looking back with regret having only brought Mohamed Elneny to the club from Basel in a £5 million deal.



Elneny was a necessary signing after Arsenal came into the New Year desperately needing central midfield reinforcements, with a number of players sidelined including Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere.

Elneny is an all-action central midfielder and is considered far more than a six-month stop-gap. The Egyptian arrives as a long-term signing, with Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky all expected to leave when their current contracts expire in the summer.



Ideally, Arsenal would like to sign another defensive midfielder to provide competition for Francis Coquelin but none were available in January. Wenger is already scouting for possible summer additions with potential targets including William Caravlho, Lars Bender, Ruben Neves and Grzegorz Krychowiak.

Wenger also wants a top-class striker but there was never any question of a successful bid for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this month.



Arsenal did make some exciting signings for the future as Nigerian under-17 stars Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze joined in a combined £3m deal. Both players were targets for leading clubs across Europe and Arsenal are hugely excited about their potential. They will start off training and playing in the youth teams but could be fast-tracked if they impress.

The north Londoners also made enquiries for 18-year-old Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell and could re-ignite their interest in the summer. They indicated they were prepared to spend £3m to sign Chilwell but the Foxes held firm in refusing to sell the highly rated teenager.