Arsene Wenger does not intend to bolster his attacking options even though Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho will be unavailable in January.
Arsenal manager won't bring in attacking reinforcements
Arsene Wenger has revealed that he does not intend to bolster his attacking options in January even though Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho will be going to the African Cup of Nations.
Chamakh and Gervinho will soon link up with Morocco and Ivory Coast respectively for international duty and the absence of the duo will leave Robin van Persie and Park Chu-young as Arsenal's only recognised strikers.
However, Andrey Arshavin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could also be pushed forward, while Theo Walcott has regularly stated a desire to play through the middle.
Wenger believes he has enough strength in depth up front and has no plans to bring in reinforcements, although he will keep an open mind in case somebody 'fantastic' becomes available.
"At the moment, I do nothing in January," Wenger told Arsenal's
official website.
"I have a big squad, but if you knock at my door and say 'I have a fantastic player for you', I will not turn it down.
"If we have no injuries, we should get away with it because we have Oxlade-Chamberlain, who can play there, Park, Arshavin and Van Persie. So we still have offensive players, but we could be a bit short if we have an injury."
Confidence issue
Chamakh has had limited opportunities to impress this season, due to the magnificent form of Van Persie, but Wenger believes he can flourish with a more positive mindset.
And the Arsenal manager does not think he will send Chamakh out on loan to get more regular game time.
"It is a confidence issue [with Chamakh], but it is difficult to loan him now because of the African Nations Cup," he said.
"They come back in February, usually quite tired, so it is not easy.
"They need to go out two weeks before the tournament starts then it lasts two and a half weeks, then they need two weeks' recovery. So it is six weeks."
