Arsene Wenger: Arsenal's transfer window "much quieter than I anticipated"

Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny was the club's only January buy, as calls to bring in defensive reinforcements and a striker went unheeded.

"The whole period was much quieter than I anticipated," Wenger said in the press conference ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Southampton.

"The fact I'm here now shows we'll still be quiet."

A report in Portugal's O Jogo on Monday suggests that Wenger might be playing games: the paper suggests that the Gunners are keen on Benfica's Renato Sanches, who is also a target for Manchester United.

The paper reports that Arsenal scout Luis Boa Morte went to watch Sanches at the weekend; however, some conflicting reports claim that Boa Morte was more interested in another Benfica players, winger Goncalo Guedes.

Wenger did confirm Arsenal would not try to sign Chelsea captain John Terry, saying: "No, because he is at the end of his career and he has spent his career at Chelsea. If he wants to play longer, I am sure he will play for Chelsea."

Wenger added: "You can't be 100 per cent sure, if Messi knocks on my door at 5.50pm you never know."

Assuming the world's best player does not pay Wenger a visit, the lone arrival of Elneny represents a modest window for Arsenal as they bid to win their first league title since 2004.

On December 30, Wenger said:

One piece of business does seem likely to go through: Mathieu Debuchy is expected to leave The Emirates on loan, the defender pushing for first team football in order to win a Euro 2016 squad place. Manchester United, Aston Villa, Sunderland and West Ham are all said to be interested.