Arsene Wenger is firmly ensconced among those managers reluctant to spend considerable sums in January but Theo Walcott’s injury setback seems certain to test his resolve.
Walcott’s projected six-month absence is heartbreaking for a likeable player who told this newspaper only last month about his desperation to make his mark for club and country in 2014.
Five goals in six games underlined Walcott’s form and he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in his left knee against Tottenham on Saturday playing in the centre-forward position he covets the most.
Wenger had previously declared his intention to go into the transfer market if the prognosis on Nicklas Bendtner’s recovery time from an ankle injury stretched into months. Bendtner is set to return in three weeks but Walcott’s absence further restricts Arsenal’s cover for main striker Olivier Giroud, who is expected to be fit for Monday’s Premier League clash at Aston Villa.
Wenger has never been entirely convinced that Walcott is ready to play as a centre-forward — despite repeatedly stating he will end up in that position — but he is confident Lukas Podolski can provide adequate back-up.
However, the Gunners’ reliance on Giroud looks dangerously onerous heading into the second half of the season and Wenger will no doubt explore his options with greater vigour in the light of this injury setback.
So who could Arsenal sign?
