Liverpool hero Phil Thompson has questioned the wisdom of Arsenal sending Lukas Podolski to Inter Milan.
The German joined Inter on-loan last month.
Thompson said: "Arsene Wenger has trimmed his squad a bit - they had a lot of midfield players.
"Letting Podolski go was a bit strange, but Sanogo needed to play games."
Wenger instead moved to secure the £11.2m signing of Gabriel and £2.5m Krystian Bielik.
Thompson added: "Arsenal have strengthened in an area where a lot of people have been calling for it.
"Gabriel hasn't got a great deal of international pedigree but it's a signing that was required - they were desperate for a centre-back.
"Krystian Bielik is one for the future."
