Arsene Wenger admits that Danny Welbeck’s latest injury could affect his summer transfer plans.
The England international won’t be available for selection until early 2017 at the earliest which, coupled with doubts surrounding the future of other squad members, has prompted media speculation that the Gunners could try and make more than one acquisition in attack.
“It is a good question,” said Wenger when asked if Welbeck’s latest injury blow could force him to weigh up new arrivals.
“We have to think about that. When a player is out for nine months, you have to consider that it is a season and that makes you short on the striker front.”
Wenger was also quizzed on the future of Theo Walcott, linked this week with a big money move to West Ham United, backing the player to come good for Arsenal and to be picked by Roy Hodgson for England’s Euro 2016 campaign.
“I think he should go [to the Euros]. He has gone through a bad spell; it’s true. After the Man United game he has had a difficult period but in the last month, he has come back very strong. He could be a positive surprise for England.
“Yes, he will be here next season,” he continued. “Yes [he has plenty still to offer], of course.”
You don’t need us to remind you to take Arsene’s press conference comments with a pinch of salt, after all, he was the one who sparked rumours of a Walcott move when he admitted three weeks ago that he was unsure whether the player would stay on at the Emirates.
As things stand, aside from a couple of spurious links with Juventus striker, Alvaro Morata, there haven’t been too many strikers linked with us. Of course, it’s early doors and there’s a good chance we’ll have a full spreadsheet of names by mid-summer.
Really!? Ya think??
Hello namesake.
More worrying aspect for me is his statement about Walcott staying for next season.
Agreed, hope he’s lying to us.
He’s unlikely to say – ‘no he won’t be here next season’ because it diminishes his value? Furthermore it would create friction if a sale didn’t go through?
When it comes to Wenger, the word “staying” most time means “gone”.
Case is example Cesc, Nasri, Henry, Van Persie, etc.
Welbeck is out for 9 months and you think Wenger will commit on letting Theo go ? If Wenger is able to recruit easily this summer then he will sell him but not before. He was ready to sell Coquelin last year but brought him back due to injuries in the squad.
Could this mean that at long fckg last Campbell will get a start? I really do hope so
We’re short up front without Welbeck? Who would have known
We were short up front with Welbeck. Nothing has changed.
Wenger learned we would be short without Welbeck by studying last (this) season
Walcott has not come back strongly. He’s been void of any confidence and as a result invariably enda up running the ball either out of play or into another player.
He’s been given so much more time than most players have, he’s not up to the level required (if we are to progress), and so he should be sold.
Morata would be fabolous, I swear.
If you go for Stikers who don’t score!
The truth hurts it seems! but the stats don’t lie: he has scored 7 goals in 33 starts this year and 8 last year… Still think we are in for Morata?
Just to illustrate the ludirous thought process of many…. MOrata and Icardi have both scored waay less than Giroud this season.
someone like Vincent Janssen of AZ Alkmaar is a likely target, first player 21 or younger to score 25 goals in a dutch season since the great Ronaldo
But Jozy Altidore rocked the Dutch league.
I think from that league you have to watch carefully the player characteristics because the stats can flatter due to different qualities excelling there vs the PL.
Giroud does better.
I think Morata has the raw essence of top striker and he is only 23., with Ozil behind him too, and he actually has the pace to get in behind the CB’s.
I think we could get him for cheap, I would take him all day.
We definitely need to keep some counter speed, especially if Theo goes or does not gain form. The problem for Arsenal, however, is the defense has to come out for there to be space to run in behind. with our high possession play that doesn’t happen enough so we need an attacker that can also be effective in congested spaces.
My friend follows Juve like I follow Arsenal and he thinks Morata is still too young/inconsistent.
I’d much rather us blow the bank on Lukaku. We should be able to get him for 40-50 million and I really think he’d be worth it given today’s market.
Absolutely. First priority – Lukaku and if not him, then Sturridge. I can’t see any other striker who can score in closed spaces and is available this summer.
Yeah huge improvement…in Premier League alone: Lukaku – 18 goals + 6 assists vs. Giroud 13 goals + 6 assists. Only 5 goals difference, I say not worth it.
I really hope Arsene isn’t keeping Theo now that Welbeck is injured. Theo is not the answer!
No shit Sherlock!
Unless the question is: which player should be sold?
Or if the question is: who should i pay a really high wage and expect little to zero in return?
let it go blogs(news hound), Theo aint going nowhere hahahahaha
Vincent Janssen of AZ would be perfect!!
Anyone from ersedivison is a gamble. You could get a van persie, but also a dirk kuyt
Oi, don’t slag off dirk, that man gave his all
Is that perfect in the ‘I’d never heard of him until a week ago but his youtube reel is great’ or perfect ‘I’ve watched a lot of Dutch football this year and he’s genuinely rather good’? Don’t mean this to sound condescending, just interested.
I like the strategy of buy 2-3 promising strikers and let them fight it out, if we are lucky one of them turns out to be world class. Would love Lukaku, even if his season has petered out, but Everton are newly rich and won’t want to lose him. He would have to force through a move for us, which seems more unlikely, he would only do that for a club with a reputation of football success rather than financial success. That is our biggest problem, if you were a pro would you pick Arsenal over Barcelona, Real, Athletico, Juve,… Read more »
Oi, are you saying Utd are better than us? Look at the table, my friend.
I’d argue that even with him, we’re short upfront…
Did he just say Theo will stay next season? Damn. This is depressing. I’m so fed up of Theo I don’t even care how much money we get for him. Really need a change
Even if Welbeck wasn’t injured, a new striker is needed. Theo will/should leave. Our striking options is the weakest of them all.
Welbz will be like a new signing in January. He must be gutted, poor guy. Sounded like Wenger wasn’t even planning on buying a striker until now. I’m taking a summer off from all the transfer talk. Media, managers, owners, players etc are just playing with ALL fans anyway.
Its depressing that we missed out on Higuain who is about to set the Serie A record for goals per season. Our list of missed opportunities is exasperating to me. Who knows how he would’ve adapted to the PL, but would definitely had added more value than our current number 9.
You go to buy a house and it us all but signed and sealed. Then at the last minute the seller says someone has offered 50% more than you. Do you bid again or let it go?
That was the quandary for us with Higuain. Price went from 20mill to 30mill according to reports. Would you have paid the extra to not be gazumped?
Yup, that extra 10m might have won us the league. A bargain considering our cash reserves, more than the rest of the PL clubs combined
So you would have paid that much extra when at the time you had no idea that he would score at the rate he is and he had an average record at Madrid and a poor record for Argentina? Hindsight is 20/20 of course now it’s worth it but at time his records and impressions on scouts may have said otherwise.
Since when do cash reserves have anything to do with how much you have available to spend on a player? The very terminology used should give you a clear idea of what it is for – reserve. The vast majority of that money is there to ensure that the running costs of the club are covered should anything go untoward. That is how you run a business responsibly, period. It would be unwise and very risky to then take the money you have spent years accumulating to ‘take a punt’ on a player who is by no means guaranteed to… Read more »
So you’re telling me, an extra £10 million is a risk to our cash reserve valued at around £200 million? Hah. Very well then. Before you go on about his wages, you should also look at the potential revenue you generate from shirt sales, higher match day attendances and the likes which generally comes when a signing as exciting as Higuain is made. Nobody is saying we should be like Manchester City, or even United nowadays. What we’re saying is calculated risks should be taken once in a while to push the team even further. Which is something you definitely… Read more »
No I don’t think that. I simply think that a calculated risk is a calculated risk. The players you are talking about are not calculated risks. If you’re being asked to stump up another £10million, you’re being dragged into a bidding war. Simple as that. My issue with what you’re saying is that you’re bandying about these cash reserves figures like they explain everything. All they do is deepen misconceptions about the way the club is run. I agree when you say we should take calculated risks, but what does that have to do with cash reserves figures? It’s not… Read more »
I can remember half the fans saying he is shit, therefore is thrown out of Real and we need someone better. Wenger must have known. Just maybe our finances weren’t right to buy him after Napoli surprise bid.
On Morata, don’t Real Madrid have a buy back option on him for relatively cheap at the end of the season?
I thought the talk was that they’d look to buy him and sell him off for more if possible.
Not saying he wouldn’t be available, just that if anyone was to go for him they might have to do business with Real rather than Juve.
The main issue with Morata is he does not score goals!
If we had to go for a young Madrid striker currently being underused, I’d rather than be Jese Rodriguez.
I second that. He could really add to our team and flourish under Wenger. He can play on both wings. Him and Sanchez would rule PL.
“I think he should go”. I really hope that the “go” here means to tell Wally Pally to “Fu*k Off” from AFC.
People are going to say “no shit” but this is what you would have wanted to hear if you want Wenger to sign a striker(s). I could easily imagine Arsene going “we’re just focusing on the next game” or “the answer is not always to go to the transfer market” or “there is a shortage of talent blah blah.” Instead he said “that is a good question,” as though he’s already been thinking about it. i can see Walcott in or out of the squad. But I’m really curious what England fans think of Wilshere. Comments on other sites are… Read more »
First time I’ve ever looked forward to an international tournament. No, we won’t win, but we’re almost certain to play some exciting stuff. I’d go Dier (potentially Drinkwater instead, still can’t decide) Wilshere Alli as a midfield three then Kane Sturridge (if fit) and Vardy up top. Kane plays all across the front for Spurs anyway, and though Sturridge isn’t at his best on the wings with the three of them all rotating it’d cause havoc. Know we’re not supposed to say it, but good God Alli and Kane look the real deal, don’t they? (apologies, know this isn’t an… Read more »
You guys would play someone that has not played 90 minutes in almost a year? Yeah that will be exciting
Really hope he wasn’t serious with the Walcott comments and just talking up him before the EC. Can’t see how he would possibly have merited to stay for next season especially with that wage
Oh come on guys, chill out. Wenger also said he never heard of Cazorla. 48 hours later… We all know how that went.
The fact is that there are many options keeping Theo does not mean not buying anyone either. Saying Theo stays also means nothing until window is closed.
Some one mentioned Janssen, I think he’s worth a gamble, also Arkadiusz Milik looks interesting option. But as always I’m certain winger has already got his wish list and probably by now is somewhere halfway through negotiations. Just hang tight and we’ll see what comes our way.
And he said that cthe contract story was made-up… We all know how that ends! 😉
The fact that he insinuates that he wasn’t looking to bolster the front line prior to Welb’z injury is a little scary.
Ibrahimovich
Is he thinking of a new striker because we’ve lost Welbeck? I don’t like the sound of that.
I thought getting a striker was high on his list before Welbz’ injury.
I think it was. Hope so. Maybe it is all for the good: We might overload the forward squad this year to compensate. Hoping for at least a top striker and a wide forward up front. Suspect we’ll see a new academy face there too.
Needed to sign a striker regardless of the loss of Welbeck. Need a defender, winger and central midfielder as well. Although apparently we are on the verge of one of them. Still plenty of time.
We’ve got Giroud. Along with Walcott will be enough to get us that fourth spot for next season.
Champions with Sanogo to complement that duo
You do realise we haven’t finished 4th for two seasons?
At least amend your criticism to read “3rd”
?
3rd is a bonus. The target, usually, is the 4th place trophy.
What you don’t say is “yes now we have an injury to our striker we are desperate for a striker – so please stick 10mill on to the asking price of any player we enquire about”
And you don’t say “Theo has no future here – please downgrade your bid by 10mill cos we want rid…and here take Giroud…cos Theo’s misplaced crosses and Girouds mistimed headers will be a deadly combination”.
…because we were world beaters even with Welbeck in the squad.
This is how delusional he is. He He has lost touch with reality. Even WITH Welbeck and Giroud Arsenal were two quality strikers short
If he doesn’t see that then … ah well.
Anyway I am sure this post is getting thumbed up by those revelling in just another top four finish.
As many have said, there is a difference between what he says to the media and his actual intentions. Someone made this point earlier, if he had have come out and made Walcott’s future look dubious it would have two negative effects: 1. If it seems that we want to sell Theo his value suddenly diminishes. 2. If we present ourselves as short of strikers by admitting that Theo might leave, coupled with the fact that Welbeck is injured therefore leaving Giroud as our only option, it gives the clubs we are trying to buy from more power in negotiations.… Read more »
theo and giroud out. bring in two new strikers. one can be a young(er) prospect (anthony martial type without the price tag) and one proven goal scorer (aubameyang or higuan would be ideal but unlikely). ackpom for backup in a worst case injury scenario. giroud and theo need to be sold while we can still get something for them. we don’t need another season of them proving what utter shit they are.
and so help me god if wenger mentions sanogo in his striker plans.
Hey Arsene – No shit, Sherlock. We all knew this back in August, September, and January.
Blogs, Apart from Morata we’ve been linked with loads of strikers!
I was never a Walcott fan, even when he was a favorite years ago I thought him one dimensional. His wage is too high and he can’t make decisions. However, I think he should stay as a squad player. His level is ok for third choice striker/winger and transfer efforts are better focused elsewhere. He should only go if two top top quality strikers are brought in and I think we’ll only get one.
you don’t have squad players making 140K per week. that’s absurd.
So would selling him and having to subsidize his wages.
We are always short up front lol. We need a whole new front line
Anyone else up for spending a bucket load of cash on Lukaku?
Watch as we are linked to every striker on the planet.
Can’t we make a bid for James Rodriguez? He is decent, unsettled in Madrid and we can offer him regular playing time and champs league. He also has Ospina there to help him.
Why do we need hamezz when we got ozil and cazorla.
Did anyone else notice how defensive and cross Arsene was on the “Arsenal Player” post Villa interview compared with the press conference?
He seems annoyed at the club – have a look…
http://player.arsenal.com/matches/g803532/video/7851/wenger-pre-aston-villa?autoplay=true
Theo will stay.Wenger won’t buy two strikers for sure.That would ok for me if Wenger would’ve think of Theo as third option,and Giroud as second.But I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t think like that.And also I can almost hear Wenger saying after Welbz’s recovery that Welbz is like new signing and that there aren’t available strikers who are better than Theo and Giroud on market.And we all know that there are. Ibrahimovic-free,still in great form despite age,wages can be problem,but should it really be the problem if you bring someone for free? Higuain-50 millions,proved scorer on regular basis. Aubameyang-50 millions,bunch… Read more »
Ey, Theo Walcott is a good striker, don t play him on the wing. Remember the start of the season? Had a run of great games as a striker. Unlucky to get injured.
How many times have we heard we’re ‘short’ followed by zero signings.
Joke.