Arsene Wenger will buy in January if "the right opportunity" presents itself.

The Arsenal manager has hinted that he will strengthen his squad during the winter transfer window and he explained his approach at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

"There is a need there but the right opportunity has to come up. To buy [just] to buy is not what we want to do, but if the right opportunity comes up, we will do it.

"To buy just to buy is not what we want to do, but if the right opportunity comes up, we will do it" Arsene Wenger

"If you look at the number of games some players played, and the injuries we have with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta, we are a bit short at the moment in midfield."

Wenger has not ruled out a loan switch for Yaya Sanogo, but he played down reports linking Lukas Podolski with a move to Inter Milan.

"He’s a player of Arsenal Football Club and I want him to stay," said the manager. "Apart from that, what it is to be professional is that as long as you are somewhere, you give your best to justify your wages and your love for the club.

"I hope [that Podolski will stay]. [The] Inter Milan [reports] are not serious. They talk, it is only talk.

"Offensively we have many options [when everyone is fit], too many to keep everyone involved with the right number of games, that is for sure.

"I don’t really doubt [loan deals] in some positions where players need experience. That’s not the case for Podolski but players who need practice because they’re at a very young age like Sanogo, it is not impossible."