While many will be unwrapping presents and digging into a generous helping of turkey and pudding on Christmas day, Arsenal's devoted manager will meticulously be going over and over in his mind who he should bring in to the London club during the January transfer window. He may not be very good company around the dinner table for the 25th, but come the 1st January, he could well have a vintage Thierry Henry to unwrap, and perhaps even a brand new left back in the form of Wayne Bridge, and the French manager will surely be a lot more satisfied and relaxed going into the new year. He may even be filled with enough festive cheer to spend some money.
Having no recognized left backs in his side at present is a headache cured only by the approaching January transfer window, with the similarly troublesome departures of Marouanne Chamkh and Gervinho to the African Cup of Nations also prompting Wenger to act in the market. He has Christmas day off thanks to Arsenal's boxing day fixture against being moved back to the 27th due to tube strikes, and will put it to good use with a period of thinking time.
His comments yesterday confirmed that he has already established players need to be brought into the club, and that they will most likely be short term loan deals simply to keep the squad strong in the face of current injuries. The thinking time set aside for the Arsenal manager is there for him to ponder on who specifically would be available and suitable for the job at hand. He said:
"It can only be a short-term solution for us because we have bought [Andre] Santos, we have Gibbs, we have [Thomas] Vermaelen who can play there, so we do not need a long-term solution."
"Long-term, I am sticking to Santos and Gibbs, I love both of them because they have a quality I like, which is to attack. I haven't made any enquiry yet [for Wayne Bridge], so for the moment not him or anyone else."
Manchester City's out of favour left-back, Wayne Bridge has been the one player rumoured as most likely, and as he is not needed at City having played only once this season, and forced to train with the youngsters rather than the first team, it is understandable if he wished to move to Arsenal for some action. However, Wenger has, as he emphasizes, time to decide on exact personnel.
Talk of Wenger attempting to turn back time and re-introduce club legend, Thierry Henry to the adoring Arsenal fans may yet turn into a reality, but again, Wenger needs to think about it and make the decision as to whether it would be beneficial to him to bring back the clubs all-time leading goalscorer to help Robin van Persie with his goal-getting duties. As is known, Henry is currently training with the London side while his current MLS side, the New York Red Bulls enjoy the end of their season. Wenger said yesterday:
"That's why I have Christmas Day off. I have to think about that. Short-term is ideal for us, but I haven't made any enquiry yet. Thierry is not here at the moment. It has never come up in conversation."
"The 1st of January is the vital date for us. We are at the 23rd of December today, so we have seven days to make decisions and I will make a decision in the next seven days on players. I promise you will know."
While Henry may be a popular option for Arsenal fans, and a big moral boost for the squad, some may prefer to remember the legend as exactly that - a player who was unrivaled in his time with the club, and that is something perhaps in Wenger's mind. Other more expensive options like Lukas Podolski who has also been linked to Arsenal recently would give the side an exceptional boost in quality but would damage Arsenal's bank balance - another thing on Wenger's mind.
Wenger will use Christmas to decide on Arsenal's transfer activity, and whether or not it will be a happy new year will rest upon those decisions. Bridge, Henry, Podolski, with murmurs of the French midfielder Johan Gourcuff being offered to Wenger. Who comes in and how much will be spent will be decided over Christmas dinner at Mr Wenger's house.
View the original article here
