Carvalho on the menu again as Wenger steps up January transfer plans

Arsenal are stepping up their efforts to sign a defensive midfielder in the January transfer window as they assess the availability of several potential targets.

Arsene Wenger is eager to bolster his squad with the Gunners currently second in the Premier League and hoping to win the title for the first time since 2004.

The Gunners are without first choice defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin until at least March because of a knee ligament injury, with Mathieu Flamini currently playing in the holding role in front of the back four.

Sporting midfielder William Carvalho has been on Arsenal’s radar for several years and they strongly considered a move for the 23-year-old last summer before he suffered a fractured tibia playing for Portugal in the European Under-21 championships.

The north London club are understood to be scouting Carvalho and considering his potential availability in January, although Sporting will be hugely reluctant to sell a key player midway through the season as they chase the Portuguese title.

Ruben Neves, the 18-year-old Porto midfielder who became the youngest player to captain a team in the Champions League, is another who has been strongly linked with Arsenal and has also been watched by Chelsea and Liverpool this season.

Grzegorz Krychowiak has been tracked by Arsenal but is another player unlikely to move in January after he signed a new contract with Sevilla in November.

It means Wenger is casting the net far and wide to try and find an available player in the winter window to improve his squad, especially after his side were drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League last 16.

Other players linked with the Gunners include Paris Saint-Germain youngster Adrien Rabiot, a one-time Tottenham target, who has spoken about a potential loan move as he targets increased playing opportunities.

enger is notoriously cautious in the transfer market but has admitted that he is ready to move in January if he can find the right player: "We are in a position where we want to do something," he said in November. "If I find the right quality I will."