NEWS NEWS BLOG SPORT brings you all the latest news from the Emirates Stadium.
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| Laurent Koscielny was rested for Arsenal's clash at Bournemouth over Christmas |
Laurent Koscielny says manager Arsene Wenger has worked wonders with his rotation policy over the Christmas period.
Arsenal came out out their festive fixtures with nine points from a possible 12.
They beat Manchester City, Bournemouth and Newcastle, while their only blip was a 4-0 thumping at Southampton on Boxing Day.
Defender Koscielny, who scored the winner against Newcastle yesterday, was rested for the Bournemouth clash.
And the France international expressed his gratitude to Wenger for managing the squad’s fitness.
“During the Christmas period, when you play three games in a week, it’s very difficult for our physique,” he told arsenal.com.
“We have a good squad and we were able to rotate against Bournemouth, so all the players who played were fresh and able to do their jobs well.
“We need to stay focused because we have many tough games in the second half of the season.
"Next week we have more tough games and important ones against big teams so we need to have everyone focused on the job.”
In transfer news, Wenger says he will look to sign players in January - although the club are yet to line anyone else up bar Mohamed Elneny.
Elneny is expected to be granted a work permit next week ahead of a £7million switch from Basel.
The midfielder is not the only player Wenger is hoping to bring in, with Metro quote Wenger as confirming another move should be done by mid-January.
“I don’t give much away [about transfers] because I don’t know [what’s going on],” said Wenger.
“I want to talk about them and hopefully we are capable of doing something in the next 10 days.
“It’s more about quality than quantity because our players will not stay out injured forever.
"Francis Coquelin is starting to run, Santi Cazorla will be back in mid-February, and Mikel Arteta is back now so, hopefully, if we can add one and, if needed, two maximum.”
Real Madrid are holding out for £30m for Arsenal and Manchester City target Isco.
Isco, 23, is expected to quit the Bernabeu this month after reportedly handing in a transfer request.
He is said to be unhappy with his lack of game time, having started just three of Real’s last nine games.
Arsenal are understood to be keen on Isco and there were reports they would make a £28.9m offer early in the transfer window.
But the Mail on Sunday claim City are also willing to spend big on the influential midfielder and are open to raising the transfer fee by a further £1.1m.
Italian giants Milan have eyed Isco as a potential winter recruit but are reportedly eyeing a six-month loan move with a permanent transfer being settled in July.
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