Arsene Wenger has revealed that he wants to keep Danny Welbeck at Arsenal over the winter transfer window.
Welbeck has been closely linked with a move to Besiktas in the British and Turkish press.
Turkish-Football did however, report that the Black Eagles have not actually made an offer for the England international.
Nevertheless, rumors continued to circulate and Wenger has finally opened up about Welbeck’s future.
“I want Danny Welbeck to stay here,” Wenger stated in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Chelsea clash.
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Welbeck and Olivier Giroud are not fit enough to feature in Wednesday’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg clash against Chelsea.
The England international has however, struggled for playing time and could be pushed back down the pecking order if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang end up joining.
Wenger however, not ruled out additional transfers in or out over the winter transfer window.
“It depends on the opportunities we have. We can buy players. We are busy on all fronts, so overall I think we are open-minded,” he added.
“Every opportunity we have to strengthen our squad, we’ll take. If people want to buy some of our players, we have [examined that] – players who have less chances to play, we have done it, who deserve to play because they are great players, who have left us.
“After that, we’ll see at the end. There’s still a lot that will happen as usual on the transfer market.”
Welbeck has struggled for first team action this season playing just 1,183 minutes in all competitions.
The 27-year-old has five goals and one assist in 22 appearances for the Gunners this season.
Welbeck has another one and a half seasons remaining on his current Arsenal deal.
