Transfer news: Arsene Wenger declares 'we will be active' in the transfer market despite failings with new signings so far this summer

Yaya Sanogo remains their sole addition to a thinning squad, but Wenger promises the club will remain active right up until the September 2 deadline

Arsene Wenger has promised Arsenal fans that the club will remain active until the end of the transfer window (GETTY IMAGES)

Arsene Wenger has reiterated that the club are looking to make new signings despite their lack of activity in this summer’s transfer window.

France Under-20 striker Yaya Sanogo remains the club’s only signing so far having joined on a free transfer, and while they have tabled a number of bids for different players, they are yet to see any of them accepted.

The Gunners came close to signing Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid for £23m, but saw him move to Napoli after the Spanish club hiked up their asking price to £34.5m – a fee that the north London club were unwilling to pay.

Having identified that they may miss out on the Argentine, officials launched an audacious bid for Luis Suarez of £40m plus £1, but have so far made no headway in their attempt to sign the controversial Uruguayan striker despite his best attempts to force a move out of Anfield.

The latest transfer target has been Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo, who is looking to leave the Allianz Arena for regular football with one eye on next year’s World Cup in his home country, Brazil. Reports this morning suggested that he had chosen to move to Wolfsburg instead of Arsenal, but the German club have moved to dismiss that a deal has been agreed, but it seems Arsenal may have missed out yet again.

But Wenger remained calm and accepts that patience will be key in bringing in new faces before the September 2 deadline.

"We are active," Wenger told Arsenal Player. "We are in a situation like Manchester United, like Chelsea, where everybody expects signings and at the moment not a lot has happened.

"There are 18 days to go, so that is a long time in the transfer market and we will be active.

"I cannot certify what the number [of players coming in will be], but we will be active until the end, that is for sure."

The 63-year-old Frenchman has been able to offload a number of fringe players that were taking up a significant proportion of the wage bill, but he admits he had to make a decision on whether or not to sell winger Gervinho, having seen him move to Roma for £8m last week.

"I made that decision because he looked to play with a lack of confidence, especially at the Emirates," Wenger explained.

"He is a very creative player, an instinctive dribbler and for that you need a lot of confidence to be completely efficient.

"I felt that in the last six months it was very difficult for him to express his talent in a confident way.

"Then you sit there and think, 'do I bring him back or does he need a new challenge to get that confidence back?' and I did not want to stop him from getting a new chance."