ARSENE WENGER has ruled out making a renewed attempt to sign Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye during next month's transfer window.

The Arsenal manager lodged a £10m offer for Cabaye in the summer, only for Magpies officials to reject it out of hand despite the Frenchman briefly refusing to play as he attempted to force through a move to the Emirates.

Wenger subsequently switched his attentions to Mezut Ozil, and since moving to England on August's transfer-deadline day, the Germany international has established himself as one of the leading midfielders in the country.

Cabaye has buckled down to produce a string of impressive displays for Newcastle, and while Paris St Germain are expected to make a formal approach next month, Wenger insists Arsenal will not be rekindling their interest in the 27-year-old.

“Yohan Cabaye? We don't look for midfielders,” said the Arsenal boss, after Olivier Giroud's 65th-minute winner earned his side a 1-0 win at St James' Park that took them back to the top of the table. “Today we had no Ozil and no (Aaron) Ramsey, who stayed at home, but we still had three good midfielders and still had (Mikel) Arteta on the bench. There is no real need (for a signing) in there.”

The Northern Echo: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

Yesterday's victory restored Arsenal's one-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the table, and means the Gunners have won 13 of their 19 matches so far this season.

In previous seasons, they might well have crumbled in the face of some intense Newcastle pressure and some shuddering tackling from Cheik Tiote and Moussa Sissoko in particular.

Their current side appears to be made of sterner stuff though, and having claimed the lead through Giroud's 11th goal of the season, they hung on to their advantage with precious few scares.

“In the last 15 minutes, we showed another aspect of our team, the resilience and fight,” said Wenger. “We threw our bodies in the box and showed a lot of resilience.

“You have seen the technical aspect of the team, it was quite good, but you have also seen the mental aspect that was needed in a game of that stature.

“There is something in the team that is special on that front, the mental front. Many times we have been questioned, but we showed it at West Ham when we were 1-0 down and we have shown it again today when we had our backs to the wall in that last 15 minutes. There's a great solidarity and a great spirit in the side.”

The Northern Echo: Arsene Wenger

Arsenal have claimed more Premier League points than any other side in 2013, and will head into the new year targeting their first league title since 2004.

“We believe in ourselves and are determined to absolutely give our best,” said Wenger. “We want to be able to turn back at the end of the season and think we have given our best. I hope it will be enough of course, but it's a long way to go and it's too early to say that.”