Arsenal manager Unai Emery says he will look to bring in a new centre-back in January.
The Gunners took their unbeaten streak to 22 matches on Thursday night, beating Qarabag 1-0 at the Emirates.
Despite their excellent form, a lack of options at the back are proving problematic ahead of a busy run of games.
Emery told reporters it is the one area of the pitch where he will look to strengthen next month:
I don’t know if it’s possible, but I think if we can take one player to help us at centre-back it’s a good option.
Koscielny coming back is very important for the team and we are going to see how Mavropanos is improving with his injuries.
Nacho Monreal can play in this position. But I prefer to use, if we can, specific centre-backs in this position.
Arsenal have Rob Holding out for the entire season, after the youngster picked up a cruciate knee ligament injury in the 2-2 draw at Manchester United. Konstantinos Mavropanos is also out.
Question marks also surround the long-term fitness of Laurent Koscielny, with the veteran making his long-awaited comeback against Qarabag after seven months out.
