LONDON -- Arsene Wenger doesn't expect a big overhaul of the Arsenal squad in the summer, but admitted he needs to strengthen the team if he can find the right players.
Arsenal was the only club in the major European leagues not to buy a single outfield player last summer as Wenger opted against using the large cash reserves at his disposal -- much to the frustration of many fans. But with the Gunners on course to finish the campaign without silverware -- and with several players set to leave at season's end -- Wenger is expected to be more active in the transfer market this time around.
But he said a glance at the Premier League table -- where Leicester, Tottenham and Arsenal are top of the standings -- prove that bringing in several new players doesn't always lead to success.
"If you look now at the top three, you see that the top three teams have not changed their team a lot," Wenger said. "We have to strengthen our squad. But despite the money the English clubs will have, it's not obvious [we will] find the players who will strengthen the squad. We will of course work very hard to do that, and we are already working, but we have to find the players. It's not easy."
Arsenal have been linked with Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, with Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky and Mathieu Flamini all set to leave when their contracts expire, but so far Wenger has refused to be drawn on specific targets.
And having bought Mohamed Elneny from Basel in January, Wenger may have already filled the need for another defensive-minded midfielder after seeing the Egyptian excel in recent games.
"I will judge him until the end of the season, but what is for sure is that he's had a big impact. Much bigger than expected," Wenger said. "Because usually a guy who comes in, it takes him a few months to adapt. And him and [Alex] Iwobi I think had a big impact recently in the quality of our game."
Finishing behind Leicester and Tottenham will only increase the clamouring from fans for new and expensive signings. But Wenger remains convinced that his current squad will keep improving next season.
"You cannot dismiss that players like Iwobi is 19 years of age, Elneny 23, Francis Coquelin 24. They will be stronger. You need anyway to keep a core of players and strengthen where we can. But the team is going the right way," the Frenchman said.
"It's at the moment a bit difficult for us to accept that we were not completely there. But you have as well to accept that Leicester lost three games until now. It is exceptional. And they lost two games against us. ... Barcelona has lost four, Real Madrid five, and Leicester three."