Post by Taxigirl on Oct 25, 2003 9:31:00 GMT
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted he will need divine intervention if he is to be able to bolster his squad this winter.
The Gunners boss, who has been linked with a possible move for Barcelona's unsettled star Patrick Kluivert, admitted that only a present from Jesus would enable any such move.
"We will see what we can do after Christmas. Maybe we will get a present from Jesus," said Wenger.
On Kluivert he joked: "He will have to speak to Jesus! A fee of £1.3 million is not expensive but we cannot afford those [wages].
"It's a situation created by the media at the moment though. I'm not out to buy anyone and we'll do what we have always done.
"When we have signed a player, we will come out with it publicly. If the name of a player comes out before you have signed him, it doesn't work."
Wenger also stated that he did not really have a need for a new striker.
"We scored the 85 goals last season and Manchester United were next on 74, so we are not really desperate to buy any strikers," he said.
"Should we lose a player like Thierry Henry, then I would say, `yes, we are in desperate situation'. But even if we lose him, I cannot tell you who could replace him.
"I would have a big problem anyway. Would I have the funds if that happened? I don't know yet."
Arsenal's failure to invest in their squad is because of their ongoing need to finance their plans for a new stadium at Ashburton Grove.
"The financing of the stadium is taking place and then we can make decisions at board level, but the board is very concerned by the stadium as well as the team," he continued.
Wenger also revealed that he intends to recall loanees Jermaine Pennant, Moritz Volz and Sebastian Svard at the end of the spells at Leeds, Fulham and Copenhagen respectively.
"If I can get Pennant, Volz and Svard back with six months' experience behind them, I'm quite relaxed about putting them into the side," he said.
"We'll just have to see over a longer period whether it turns for or against us the fact that we have less players than Chelsea or Manchester United."
On the injury front Arsenal have just lost captain Patrick Vieira for a further two weeks and Wenger has taken some of the blame on himself.
"I decided not to start him [against Dynamo Kiev] as I felt he'd only had two days' normal training and he was still playing a bit within himself in training," he explained.
"But because he was pronounced medically fit, I told him that he would come on if needed. When he came on, I thought it was needed.
"He is out for two more weeks at least. This time, we have to take the needed time. We took 25 days last time and now we have to see how long it will last.
"We don't have too much cover in central midfield. We have Edu, Gilberto Silva and Ray Parlour but that's basically it. So with every injury and suspension, it becomes harder.
"What we want firstly is to win Sunday's match against Charlton. The team gave everything in Kiev and were disappointed so it's important that we respond straight away."
