Transfer Rumor: Arsenal Set to Make January Offer to Re-sign Old Warhorse Kolo Toure From Manchester City?

With January transfer window closing in, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is reportedly ready to make efforts to land former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure from Manchester City as quickly as possible.

The Ivorian has currently been side-lined at the Etihad Stadium, following his six month drug ban. The Gunners' boss is enthusiastically hoping to make an attempt for his star defender in order to make his defense more compact.

Toure, who was a part of Arsenal’s “Golden Era,” left the Gunners in the summer of 2009 and featured consistently for Man City for 18 months. However, the defender has found it hard to break into Roberto Mancini’s first team since his six-month ban ended in early September. As of now, the excellent form of Englishman Joleon Lescott and Belgian Vincent Kompany in the centre of City's back four has made it harder still for Toure.

As for the Gunners, their current defensive problems continue; the London club have conceded a shocking 21 goals in ten Premier League matches thus far this season. Although the team performed exceptionally well against Chelsea, in their last league game, winning 5-3, Wenger will know that his team was defensively very poor. Matters have been complicated by further injuries to key players in his squad.

Although Arsenal’s French defender Laurent Koscielny has shown good form of late, German international Per Mertesacker is still trying hard to adapt to the Premier League way of life. Furthermore, defender Thomas Vermaelen is still struggling to find full fitness while Johan Djourou has been made to play out of position at right back.

Although Toure will be unavailable for club duty in January, due to the African Nations Cup, Wenger will hope that internationl action will help the player gain momentum. Toure has not made a Premier League start in almost nine months, according to a Caughtoffside report.

Kolo Habib Toure, the elder brother of Manchester City team-mate Yaya Touré and Makasa's Ibrahim Touré, joined Arsenal in 2002 from ASEC Mimosas for a fee of £150,000 after a short trial. He made his first-team debut against Liverpool in the FA Community Shield in August 2002 and scored his first Arsenal goal at Stamford Bridge in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea.

He, along with former Arsenal team-mate Philippe Senderos, helped Arsenal reach the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final after keeping 10 consecutive clean sheets which is a European competition record.

Toure left for Man City for a fee of £16 million in 2009 and signed a four-year contract with the club. In 2011, it was revealed that Toure had failed a drug test and was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Toure has made an amazing 226 appearances for the Gunners and has managed to score nine times. While at Man City, he has made 49 appearances, scoring two times.