Arsene Wenger has hinted he may make a late move in the
transfer market to ease the strain of Arsenal's increasingly
lengthy injury list.
Wenger had insisted he would not sign any new players before the
transfer window closes on Wednesday night because he was happy with
his squad. But Brazilian midfielder Julio Baptista became the
latest Gunner to be struck by the injury jinx when he suffered a
groin injury in Sunday's 1-1 FA Cup fourth round draw against
Bolton.
Emmanuel Eboue, Alexander Hleb, Robin van Persie, Freddie Ljungberg
and William Gallas are already sidelined, forcing Wenger to
consider changing his transfer plans. Asked after the Bolton match
if he would make a signing in the three remaining days of the
window, Wenger said: "That is a good question, but I cannot give
you an answer.
"Normally I would say no, we won't do anything, but we have lost
van Persie and we will see what Baptista has. "I would see it as a
panic buy because it was not planned." If Wenger does do any
business, it will be completed by the time Arsenal meet Bolton
again for their replay at the Reebok Stadium on February 14.
Arsenal needed a late goal from Kolo Toure to rescue them after
Kevin Nolan had given Bolton the lead early in the second
half.
Wenger's side have won just one of their last eight meetings with
Bolton and, after being beaten at Allardyce's side at the same
stage of the competition last season, they will not relish another
trip to the Reebok Stadium, where they lost 3-1 in November.
With Arsenal also playing PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League a
week after their Valentine's Day date with Bolton, Wenger is unsure
if he will field a full-strength side at the Reebok.
Bolton's superiority over Arsenal in recent seasons is a source of
great pride for Allardyce, who also revealed that Kevin Davies may
miss Wednesday's match against Charlton after suffering a foot
injury. He added: "We have a game plan to set out by stopping a
side in every department. We needed to expose their weaknesses and
we did that often."
