Arsene Wenger: Arsenal must buy a defender in January after Debuchy joined injury list

Thegoalmac has learned that Arsene Wenger admits that Arsenal are "short" in central defence after Mathieu Debuchy sustained a dislocated shoulder in the club's 3-0 win over Stoke on Sunday.

As a result, Debuchy joins an ever-growing injury list in north London, with fellow defenders Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers also sidelined, and Wenger says that he may have to dip into the January transfer market in search of reinforcements.

"Not so much because we were in the market anyway," Wenger told the press when asked if Debuchy's injury would accelerate the club's transfer plans.

"[Nacho] Monreal and Debuchy can play centre-back but, if Gibbs is not here, Monreal cannot play centre-back and, if Debuchy is not here, he cannot play centre-back.

"This is a position where we are short."

Wenger also paid tribute to Alexis Sanchez after the Ch-ilean continued his fine form with two goals against the Potters.

"The better the team plays, the more Alexis is involved in the game because we attacked a lot," he added.

"We had a very offensive team today and he's confident. He's another, like Giroud, and we can be direct with him, you can run at people a bit more, so there's a good combination offensively."+*