Arsenal confirm the recruitment of Spanish midfielder on loan

Arsenal have confirmed their first signing of the winter transfer window with Denis Suarez joining them on an initial loan from Barcelona on deadline day. The Spanish midfielder has been linked with the north Londoners since the beginning of the month and the club have eventually sorted out the move after agreeing on a temporary deal with the Blaugrana with the option to buy.

Suarez does not fit the club’s requirement for a new central defender amid the recent injury crisis but he would provide an improvement in the offensive line where the Gunners have missed the services of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Danny Welbeck over the past month.

The former of those is expected to feature in February after approaching the final stages of his recovery from a foot problem but he may still be restricted to a bench role until he can attain match fitness which does not remain the case with Suarez.

Arsenal are currently fourth in the Premier League standings with 47 points but they were aided to the final Champions League place in midweek after Chelsea suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth on the road.

For the weekend, the Gunners have a difficult league challenge against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and it remains to see whether they can showcase a defensive resolve which has been missing on the road throughout the current campaign.

The Capital outfit have failed to keep a single clean sheet on their travels in the Premier League and this does not make for good reading before tackling the Citizens, who have netted an average of more than three goals in their home matches this term.

Meanwhile, the Sunday game may witness the debut of Denis Suarez in the Gunners shirt and he may have a point to prove after previously failing to break into the Citizens setup during his time at the side between 2011 and 2013.

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