Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for another month after undergoing a second surgical procedure on his groin. The England left-back had been tipped for a return this weekend, but suffered a setback prior to Wednesday’s win over Aston Villa.
Speaking to assembled press this morning at the Emirates, Wenger revealed: “It was a blow but first what is important is that if he cannot play you have to make the decision that we had to make and arrange surgery for him. Hopefully it will only be one month because Santos will not come back before March.”
Johan Djourou, also suffering with a groin strain picked up at Manchester City, apparently has a small chance to play against Wolves on December 27th while Bacary Sagna is doing well in his recovery and should return next month.
“You could see that he’s a bit ahead of schedule,” Wenger said of Sagna. “We have to [be careful] but physically he will be ready very quickly because he worked very hard in the gym. We think the end of January is a reasonable target for him.”
Despite the positive vibes coming from the treatment room the boss still maintains that he will make a full-back loan signing in the New Year should a suitable opportunity arise.
“I have to see what is available,” he confirmed.
Thankfully for Arsenal fans the chances of finding an Arsenal shirt with Wayne Bridge on the back on Christmas day look unlikely – Arsene taking the time to stress that he had not enquired about Manchester City’s part-time footballer / full-time golfer.
“If I have a good opportunity then why not? But I haven’t made any enquiry yet, so for the moment no Wayne Bridge or anyone else.
“It is of course something we look at but as well it depends on how long you have to take them.
“They have a big impact on your wages as well. If you have to sign a player for three or four years and then you have three or four left backs, only one can play, so they are not happy.
“It can only be a short-term solution for us because we have bought Santos, we have Gibbs, we have Vermaelen who can play there, so we do not need a long-term solution.”
Asked whether he might also be tempted to sign a new centre-back in January, the boss categorically dismissed the suggestion.
THANK FUCK for that!
No need for another CB unless we get a utility man like Vertonghen, who in my opinion would be a great buy.
Precisely, he can play across the back line and would be ideal. Which is probably why we won’t get him.
Mr wengie,we want @least a loan deal 4 a leftback and signin of a winger and cf
I don’t think we need another winger (give the Ox a chance), but a 2nd striker would be very welcome.
I went with Jovetic on FMH, will see how that turns out…
I’ve never heard him called Wengie before. Arsene Wengie is a bit like Odemwingie i suppose…
So having Gervinho, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Benayoun, Rosicky, etc.. Isn’t enough cover for the wide positions for you? Not to mention that Arteta, van Persie can play there are a stretch.
Vertonghen & Thierry please arsene, supermario would be nice but we won t pay the asking price or are the rumours about our transfer & wages policy changing true?
I read Super Mario and genuinely thought – for a moment – you meant the fat bouncing Italian If only I could show you the cinematic that played in my head.
Henry is too old and is back in the USA in Feb.
Vertonghen would be good though…
Too old? What does that mean? He can kick the ball? At 34?
It means for a top flight premier league team he wouldn’t be worth it. Especially as we have a lot to achieve this season.
At 34 do you really think Wenger is going to sign him on the strength of his past?
I cannot see it myself.
I’m sure he can kick the ball by the way, yes. Top Footballer is TH. Regardless
of what age he is.
Hernandez screams like a pig after twisting his ankle at Villa and he goes off for a weeks or two, our Santos falls backward and twist his ankle slightly and he goes off for three months.
Diaby and Gibbs just sneeze and pull a muscle, Jones get elbowed on the face and he is playing the next game.
Is that Sods law or what?
It’s Arsenal’s law.
Hernandez only sprained his ankle, usually 2-3 weeks off depending on physio. Santos most likely had tendon/ligament damage as it required surgery to attach it back together. Jones was hit in the face, which happens to a lot of players. Our own Koscielny has smashed his nose into quite a few heads this season and last, had a bloody nose but has started the next game. The whole “having a scan on his facial injury” was over-the-top. Diaby and Gibbs are both coming back from long-term injuries with little to no match fitness. They were always going to struggle to… Read more »
Diaby and Gibbs are walking, living long-term injuries. They are the beginning of a new breed of humans. The Hernia Homo sapiens.
Vertongen looks like a good buy to me too. In our price bracket, international and can play a variety of positions. If we got Podolski and Henry on short term loan I’d be happy. The reality is we’ll probably get Sivestre back.
Sell Arshavin and invest that money in a surgery.
Anyone else think the best way of solving this defensive problem is to sign Gary Cahill from Bolton and leave Vermaelen out there for the time being? SURELY he would no problem leaving Bolton. And did I hear in the summer that he’s hasn’t a whole of time left on his contract?
That way we can move Squillaci on in the summer and we already have his replacement bought, strengthening the squad at (hopefully) not a very large cost.
Then again Cahil would be expecting to play, understandably and would rather Cahil than Mertesacker who is still getting use to the English game and may well be an immense player for us next season. I know we need to think short-term to some extent but is Cahil the answer ? No.
Anyway, Chelsea will out bid us and Coyle has told the media he is friends with AVB ! So, that setles it. Cahil is going to replace John Terry next season if not this season already !
I meant to ask, would rather Cahil than Mertesacker ? This is to imply that I certainly would not !
Seriously, what is peoples fascination with G Cahill? 1. He’s part of a Bolton defence leaking goals for fun 2. He has a few England caps, not the greatest indicator of ability 3. Just because Bolton wanted 18 mil in the summer doesn’t mean he’s worth that much. He’s a mediocre defender in a poor Bolton team. A lot of defenders look amazing when they are next to a player whose skill is equivalent to a paper bag. Thomas Vermaelen is naturally a CB, he’s played a few games for Ajax and Belgium at LB but is still a CB… Read more »
I wouldn’t say I have a FASCINATION now but I just think he’s a good player. I think it would be fair to say that yes Bolton are doing dreadful, but no one man could prevent that. If Thomas Vermealen was in that team in place of Cahill I genuinely doubt they would be doing much better. But not only that, as I said, did I not hear he hasn’t very long left on his contract? Maybe a year and a half at most? Surely 10 million would be more than enough for Bolton to allow him to move on… Read more »
As Frog has pointed out in the past ‘Cahill’ ought to be a dirty word around these-thar parts.
Bolton tried to get greedy over the summer and fluffed it. People’s he ain’t that great. Just an AVERAGE defender in fact. Leave well alone.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/23122011/58/premier-league-bolton-open-cahill-talks-chelsea.html
Well, regardless, it’s probably too late now. I guess I’ll be the only one disappointed from an Arsenal perspective anyway!
We’ve got Miquel coming through the ranks and we shouldn’t stunt his growth by getting Cahill.
Gary Cahill fucking sucks. And you sir are banned from this blog for 3 days for being the first cunt to say his name on this thread. Good day sir.
I wasn’t aware of this hatred towards Cahill around these parts!
I should comment less often…
ROFL!!!!! 🙂
Brady’s etc… Not hatred, it’s just that he ain’t Arsenal ’tis all….
Let it be said, I don’t have any beef with that cunt who plays centre half for Bolton. I just hate how people keep harping on and on about a mediocre player who was linked to us 6 months ago. The fact is if the cunt wasn’t English, nobody would want him. I hope Chelsea signs him because it will make them that much softer at the back. And listen Brady, you seem like a nice guy and all, but did you really think you were really going to come on here and make comments about signing Gary Cahill and… Read more »
Viva le Frog !!!
I’ld rather we stick with foreign players. Not that i dislike british players, just because the foreigners will have to earn their salt. We needed c*hill in the summer but it didnt happen and we got ourselves the BFG. Now that i am happy with the CB situation i wouldn’t want a case of the manager being under immense pressure, from the fans and media alike, to drop the form players to play the passport card ala champions league final 2006 where sol and cashley cunt just walked into a record setting defence from long term injuries. If we bought… Read more »
Leighton Baines anyone?
Wouldn’t come on loan and I doubt Everton would want to sell, especially in January but good shout nonetheless.
I tink Arsene’s focus 1st of all shld b on hw 2 get rid of so many dead woods in this team players lyk almunia,squillaci,chamakh,arshavin,djourou mst b shipped out fast,in d game against man city our bench lacked d quality 2 turn tins around 4 us n its nt every match dat d first eleven wil b able 2 deliver d goods somtym som fresh ideas ar needed from d bench 2 turn d tide bt if u ave a bench dat is inept u cnt expect 2 get tru d ropes especially in an high octane match lyk dat… Read more »
This isn’t football manager mate
I stopped reading when he said ‘d.’
I find lazy/text speak abhorrent.
Second best post I’ve read, only just behind signing super mario, is sell Arshavin and spend it on surgery. Either a typo or someones on crystal meth.
Glad you like it 😀
Not even football manager can crack the anoda 3m code.
Did you press the keys with a crayon held between your arse cheeks?
agree with squilacci and almunia we need to sell them or let them go for FREE but remember we already had a massive clear out in the summer cesc,eboue,denilson,cunt,guy in pink boots, traore , vela . So you expecting for those to go wont happen and i dont want that to happen.
Firstly I have to agree with northern; that was all just nonsense. I tried to read your comment but the laziness of missing out letters (vowels mostly) and not finisihing words is infuriating. Secondly i have to agree with Josh; You can’t just sell a third to half of the squad, especially in January, and still hope to challenge. What happens if injuries strike? New players don’t work out or the fact they need time to settle in and gel with the team and so wouldn’t be playing 100%? (think how many people wrote off Koscielny and Mertesacker at the… Read more »
finishing* i put too many vowels in there….
Please stop this ‘semi-txt’ language, it’s really annoying. PLEASE.
“Arshaving (10m)”.
Ponders in thought….
Sounds painful to me mate.
HENRY…. Firstly: I have recently watched this 10 minute video called The Recovery from a Crisis “http://youtu.be/fLffftvF_Hg . And you want to give us more pain so soon. Secondly : I hope you all realise the possibility of “Henry and others like him” are children who only play FIFA management computer games where; in their parallel universe they win the Championships following a harsh annihilation of third or more of the Arsenal Team players in January and expect to succeed. But let’s not dismiss his point of view but consider the knock-on effect of that bit of trade in January.… Read more »
sell asharvin and buy juan vargas from fiorentina…he’s a left back turned winger…he’ll cover left back and then move up to cover left wing when gibbs/santos are back
My thoughts exactly. Someone who can play fullback and wing. Vargas is a beast and would be perfect. Best suggestion I’ve heard so far..
He’s actually agreed to join Napoli lads.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22122011/58/serie-vargas-napoli-medical.html
Oh! Apologies! That appears to be a different Vargas!
Antonio Vargas? As in the original “Huggy Bear”. Cool, I didn’t realise he was a sportsman too.
Sorry for the last comment, too much xmas cheer.
He gets injured without even playing, he’s giving diaby a run for his money
Who, Huggy Bear?
Henry, I gave reading your post. Write properly.
Is this guy a left back or a set back? I am kinda lost.
Where’s Eboue when you need him
He was last spotted flopping around on a boat after he stubbed his toe. A fisherman thought it was the biggest fish he’d ever seen before Eboue started brandishing a fake card and asking for a penalty….
What about the Nigerian…Taye Taiwo? He should be a good short term cover for Santos and Gibbs. Moreso, I need Podolski in Arsenal. What if something happens to Vantastic?…God forbid.
You the manager now?
“I need Podolski in Arsenal”.
What’s that about mate?
@Mondaylee God forbid nothing will happen to TV5, the best news is that we aren’t going for the gulfer’ (Bridge).
Let’s just wait and see what the proff. will do, you know he’s a magician! lol
Christian Chivu ?
Chivu the lost brother of peter cech and Balack?
Podolski Henry (loan) and Taiwo (loan) and I will have a very happy
hopefully we get Luuk de Jong because he looks like an eventual replacement for our flying dutchman
The worrying thing about what AW said is “But I haven’t made any enquiry yet, so for the moment no Wayne Bridge or anyone else.”
Thats not ruling out Bridge. I wish he would just buy Vertonghen as a long term replacement for SS who should be moved on at the end of the season. His versatility to play across the back or as a defensive midfield player is exactly what we need and will mean we have 4 top class centre halfs at the club.
Hey Frog! What is your opinion on Wayne Bridge. I hope you don’t ban me for life for using that name.
I went to Church twice on Christmas, If God was listening Wayne Bridge won’t be signed
me think robert lewandowski bvb would be a perfect add in the team. people talk about m gotze but rl is just beast not only does he score but he also provide some great assist..but i highly doubt dortmund will let him go.
ps: can someone tell me what BFG stands for please??
Actually, Christian Chivu is a world class defender and he can play midfield extremely well, too. He frustrated the fuck out of Messi when Inter played Barca with a man down a few years back.
The problem is that he’s getting up there in age. He’s the kind of guy who should’ve been signed 5 years ago.
BFG= Big F*ckin German
thanks
Defensively I think we can hold out.. Wait til the big boys return.. I trust Kos, Miquel, Coquelin, verm, Merte to hold the fort til Djourou, Sagna, Gibbs then Santos return! We have enough..
Bojan would be good… Loads of potential, can play as a wing player or off a striker
The Barca DNA fucks it all up though
Left back target HAS to be Baines, Everton need the money, will be eligible to play in the CL, and look at how great our last Everton purchase is
And also…
Vertonghen is probably not the best option btw
We need a true blooded full back, we dnt need an all rounder, we need a specialist
I get the versatility angle, but one look at our CB line up and i think we have got more than enough (touch wood)
Alex, at Chelsea, is a very good defender. He’s also out of favour and transfer-listed. I know he’s a centre-back and not a full-back but I would love to see him at our club. Wenger might even be able to convert him into a very good defensive midfielder. And he is brilliant with free kicks – as we all know to our cost.
Squilaci out and Alex in would be a smart move.
OMG, I’m about to agree with FATGOONER on something. Alex IS a good defender (even though the prick scored against us).
You do know that if you ever agree with FG, the world starts falling apart and he blames Wenger….
Come on, Arsene, I have been very complimentary recently. Why? Because it’s deserved. After a horrible start, you have managed to turn things around and push us up the table. Our form over since we lost to Spurs has been excellent. But the problem is that I don’t trust you to follow things through and develop the team into a really great one. You keep dropping the ball. We are in a great position right now. The smart thing to do now would be to go out and buy three or four quality players who could bolster this side for… Read more »
All this talk about signing a defender is dumb. Arsene wenger isn’t going to loan or buy a defender in the January window. We have sagna and santos as first choice fullbacks and jenkinson and papier mâché as second choice. Untill one of them is sold, we won’t be buying. That’s the arsenal way. So keep dreaming about Alex or vertonghen or Stan or maldini. It ain’t going to happen. Tv5 is our lb untill santos is back and it’s right back by commity for a month untill sagnas fit.
We need a fucking striker.
I’ve never forgiven Alex for his header at PSG!
oh, snap!
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-henry-arsenal
Gotta agree with ya frog…. No defenders are gonna sign and it is indeed a striker we need…. And what the fuck is Henry on about?!?! I must be getting bastard old or senile or something…..!!! Don’t understand a word of it…. Is it Russian?
Huggy Bear was in Starsky and Hutch
In the 70s.We had our own HB lookalike
I think his name was Chris Whyte?
P.S. I read that Bridge says he doesn’t
play golf .So that’s 2 games he doesn’t play!
Sorry, meant to say…. According to the daily mail…(I know, I know), we have a fixture pile up…. Cause we’ve put the wolves game back a day?!! Are they complete muppets or what? More sense in the fuckin Beano….
Short term we could take Onuaha from Man City at right back and cover for Sagna when he is back, as Jenks seem to be a long term injury to me.
Can somebody please explain how signing Thierry Henry will help us? He will only be allowed to play until March, when he will have to return to the US.
What then?
Can somebody please explain how signing Thierry Henry will help us? He will only be allowed to play until March, after which he will have to return to the US.
What then?
I’ve uhmm-ed and ahh-ed over this one, and the loan signing of Henry makes sense IF it’s coupled with a more long term striker coming in as well. How many strikers with PL experience, that we’d want anyway, are available in January? Not many, if any. So accepting we have to look overseas for a long term striker signing, they’d have to go through the usual transition process. So that way, getting Henry in as cover makes sense to me. In isolation, yes up to a point, but if RVP gets crocked the day after he leaves, and we haven’t… Read more »
I thought it was Feb, maybe your right.
Overall though I agree with what your saying.
What I wanna know is: Is Park that bad that he can’t beat out Chamakh as a second striker? I can’t imagine that to be true. Park seems like a striker who will actually try and score at least.
I think someone is wishing he hadn’t sold Eboué this summer…
hindsight is 20/20. would you have bet that all 4 full-backs would face such long term injuries? Granted this IS Arsenal we’re talking about here, but it’s just dumb luck
We are going backwards if we sign henry and don’t kid ourselves it’s because no one is available, it will be purely because it’s the cheap option. To keep rvp we need to show ambition as a club and that we are moving forward not going backwards for fucks sake. Only a top quality striker will do anything short of that and say goodbye to rvp in the summer.
Here’s how I see the Henry thing. I still think he’s good enough to play for the arsenal against shit teams. With that said he gives rvp a chance to sit a few out and rest. I’m sure we could beat the likes of bolton, QPR, Norwich and dare I say Blackburn with rvp on the bench and TT starting. Just resting robin for a few fixtures would help get us through to summer when we could properly sell our shit strikers and replace them with a permanent solution. Personally is prefer to sell chamakh park and arshavin on January… Read more »
I’m not convinced we need to do too much. I know it might sound ludicrous, but we do have two players who want to play that central striking role and say as much quite often, and it might yet re-invigorate some (Arshavin has to get out of his funk).
As far as full-back goes, perhaps there might be an issue now at left back, but if Sagan gets back to us early next month things might be manageable… Either that or sign Vertohngen, krasic, kaka, tevez, benzema, Maicon and Michel bastos!
Arshavin has ‘Funked’ up too many times now. No excuses.
What we need is a proper chant for Arteta. I’m thinking of the tune “Knowing me, knowing you” by ABBA.
It could go something like this:
Knowing me, knowing you
…ARTETA…
There is nothing you can’t do!
Here is a link to the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUrzicaiRLU&ob=av3e#t=44s
Could the rest go like that…
Knowing me, knowing you
…ARTETA…
There is nothing you can’t do!
you just love to play it
every time through
ARTETA
Break up play is never easy
We know, but we have you.
ARTETA
Just checked the site..headline about Kieran Gibbs…& a pop up advert for BUPA!!!You really couldn’t make it up…