Arsène Wenger admits he plans to buy a striker in January
• Loss of Robin van Persie forces Arsenal manager's hand
• Could move for Milan's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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Arsène Wenger is planning to buy a striker in January to replace the injured Robin Van Persie. Photograph: Tony Marshall/Empics Sport
Arsène Wenger has admitted that Robin van Persie's long-term ankle injury will force him to search for a replacement striker during the January
transfer window. The
Arsenal manager , who is generally wary of the mid-season window, associating it with desperate measures, said he would only do business if any deal were viable. But for the first time since the full extent of Van Persie's injury became clear, he conceded that it had affected his thinking.
"It has to," he said. "It has to because I didn't feel we were in the need to buy anybody, but we will be out on the market, that is for sure. But we will only make a decision if it suits us." Wenger's words will be welcomed by many of the club's supporters who saw him sell Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City over the summer but choose not to replace him. He instead put his faith in Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo da Silva and Carlos Vela. All four, though, have suffered injuries, with Van Persie's the most demoralising.
Van Persie was hurt while playing for Holland against Italy last month following a challenge from Giorgio Chiellini, the motives of which Wenger has now questioned. "I watched the tackle of Chiellini again; it looked anonymous but it's not as anonymous as it looks at the start and in between [the Holland forward] Dirk Kuyt has come out and said that they were kicked by the Italians," Wenger said. "In such an important season for us we lose players in friendlies on tackles like that and it is really difficult to accept." Chiellini has denied any malicious intent.
Van Persie was diagnosed by the Dutch FA's doctors to have suffered a partial ligament tear but after further tests by Arsenal's medics, the ligaments were revealed to have been severed. He has been ruled out for five months, virtually the remainder of the domestic season.
Bendtner, who has not played since the beginning of last month because of groin surgery, is not expected to return until Christmas at the earliest.
Wenger's interest in the Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh is well documented, although a January deal appears unlikely. His other targets include André-Pierre Gignac of Toulouse, Milan's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Mario Balotelli of Internazionale. Sampdoria's Giampaolo Pazzini is another Serie A striker on Wenger's radar.
Arsenal face Manchester City at Eastlands in the
Carling Cup quarter-final tonight and because of injuries, Wenger's team will be even more experimental than that which beat Liverpool in the previous round. The 17-year-old midfielder Jack Wilshere, a loan target for Celtic, will start.
