Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has denied suggestions that he will sign players on the back of the team’s surprise defeat to Fulham at the weekend. The Gunners’ gave an unusually poor performance in the 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage but Wenger was quick to dismiss the idea of buying simply because the team lost.

The defeat left the Gunners playing catch up to Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool after just two games of the Premier League season, but denied that the lack of options in midfield were a concern. On Saturday, Arsenal were forced to field Emmanuel Eboue in an unfamiliar central midfield role alongside the inexperienced Brazilian Denilson.

Despite calls from the club’s supporters to buy new players, Wenger said "When you lose a game the solution is not always to buy”. Instead he argued that he and the players need to look at the reasons for the defeat and perhaps more importantly why the team did not play well.

 

Since Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto and Alexander Hleb left in the summer there have been suggestions that Wenger would sign a replacement. The club have been strongly linked with Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and Liverpool playmaker Xabi Alonso, but so far no transfer has materialised.

The transfer window in England closes at midnight local time on 1 September.