Arsene Wenger says he could bring in new players before Sunday's north London derby. Arsene Wenger says he could bring in new players before Sunday's north London derby.

Arsenal go into the second leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday with free signing Yaya Sanogo still the only addition to the squad which squeezed into fourth place last season.

Real Madrid trio Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil are the latest names linked with the club, and Newcastle have rejected one bid for their France midfielder Yohan Cabaye.

But a guarded Wenger stonewalled at a press conference when asked to identify his targets, instead launching an animated defence of the side which won 3-0 in Turkey last week and registered a first league win of the season at Fulham on Saturday.

He said: "I will not give you any names because I think it would be unfair for the players and create some wrong hopes.

"You can see that many of the disputes you have all over the country are because managers speak about players. In our job it's just - be discrete and try to make things happen, that's what we try to do.

"You can come back to me and say 'yes, but you don't make things happen' but still most important is what happens on the football pitch. The rest? We work very hard on it."

Asked if he expected to sign anyone before the weekend he said: "I have no fixed day because the delays don't depend on us only. It's very difficult to predict.

"We have not a fixed number (of targets), I just think we are a bit short at the moment. The most important thing is to focus on the quality of the squad we have and to play the football we want to play.

"I am guided by my conscience to do as well as I can for this club and by the vision of the game I want to play.

"I feel with the players we have we can play the football we want to play, and I am a great admirer of the spirit and attitude of these players. They are special, and if i want to add something it has to be special.

"I still am optimistic and I hope I will not disappoint you!"