Wenger confirms Arsenal want new defender, plus more notes from AGM

On Thursday Arsene Wenger spoke to shareholders during Arsenal’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) along with directors Ivan Gazidis, Stan Kroenke and others.

[RELATED: Hummels to Arsenal?]

Plenty of interesting tidbits came out of the healthy discussions, as the FA Cup and Charity Shield trophies won over the past six months where displayed prominently on the stage as a reminder to fans about the clubs success.

Recent AGM’s have been filled with plenty of concerns, and this one was no different... but the main concern was from Wenger and his lack of defensive options. Good news: he hopes to rectify that in January.

“I believe we have done remarkably well on the transfer market,” Wenger said. “I agree we could have bought one more player, (but) we did not find. We will try to rectify that, because we are a bit short with the injuries we have (defensively), and overall I think we will rectify that in the transfer market in January.”

Wenger also spoke about the possibility of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calum Chambers and Jack Wilshere playing for the England U-21 side in the European Championships this summer and said he doesn’t want them to play. Plus defended playing Mesut Ozil and Laurent Koscielny despite injury concerns to the duo who are now sidelined.

[RELATED: Khedira to sign pre-contract with Chelsea?]

American businessman, Stan Kroenke, was on hand as payments he received for services his company provided to Arsenal were discussed, while Chairman Sir Chips Keswick also announced that Kroenke’s son, Josh, has been elected to the board.

There were also plenty of discussions from Gazidis on Arsenal’s current financial state, along with debunking rumors that the club has large sums of money stashed away. Wenger is said to have a transfer kitty of around $30 million for January. The entire AGM was chronicled by a good friend, Jeremy Wilson for the Telegraph in the UK, which you can scroll through right here.

Before the meeting began the following six questions were put forward by Arsenal’s minority shareholders towards the board members as the AGM proved to be a resounding success. So much so that Kroenke suggested they should happen more often in American sports. What do you think?

1. What were the “advisory services” that Kroenke provided in return for the £3m payment that was made to him?
2. Is this payment a one off?
3. With millions in the bank why has the club not spent its riches on players? Are transfer funds being withheld?
4. Why has money not been spent on defenders?
5. What about Arsenal’s poor record against top four clubs. Is there an explanation?
6. Arsenal’s ticket prices are the highest in Britain. Will they be frozen next season?

Follow @JPW_NBCSports