adminLONDON. — Arsene Wenger will be given the green light to make another “mega signing” in January.
Arsenal boss Wenger splashed out £42million on Mesut Ozil on the summer window’s deadline day earlier this week, and club chiefs are now ready to bankroll the mid-season capture of a top striker.Mirror Sport understands the Gunners will back their manager to go after whoever he wants in January, and that there is still a determination to bring in a proven centre-forward.
Wenger got Ozil over the line by convincing the Real Madrid playmaker of his vision for the north Londoners — which includes buying more A-List stars.
Arsenal tried for but failed to land Liverpool’s Luis Suarez in the summer, and they will keep tabs on his situation to see whether there is any softening in the Kop’s stance of not selling their Uruguayan star to a club they see as a rival for a top-four finish.
Wenger tried for a stop-gap loan deal for Chelsea’s Demba Ba on deadline day, but it now seems more likely the Gunners will go for a longer-term option.
They are prepared to wait until next summer if that is what it takes, but there could be a more urgent need to bring in a new striker as Olivier Giroud is the only proven, traditional centre-forward at the club.
Youngster Yaya Sanogo is yet to start a game for the club, Theo Walcott has impressed on the wing and Lukas Podolski is out for three months with a serious hamstring injury.
Youngster Chuba Akpom (18) may get the nod in the Capital One Cup.
It does mean Arsenal are short of options, but there is still serious cash to spend to remedy that thanks to lucrative sponsorship deals with Emirates and Puma.
Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil has promised to bring back the glory years to Arsenal.
Germany midfielder Ozil (24) revealed it is an “honour” to join the Gunners after making a £42m switch which has stunned football.
In his first big interview as an Arsenal player, Ozil named Wenger and Zinedine Zidane as inspirational figures in his career and also told the Londoners’ fans what they wanted to hear.
Ozil, who joined from Real Madrid on deadline day, made it clear that he has moved to the Emirates to win silverware and end Arsenal’s barren run of eight years without a trophy.
“In the last few years, Arsenal haven’t been so successful but we want to become more successful,” said Ozil. “We want to win trophies. I think the fans are looking forward to that too.
“We have a very strong and a very young team that can improve a lot under the manager. I think we will win trophies because we have the potential (to do so).
“I’m so happy to be playing at Arsenal. I’m honoured by it. I hope we can have a successful season. It feels really good.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge, life there (in London) and (meeting) my teammates, the manager and the fans, as well as the Premier League. I’m really excited. It’s a perfect decision for me and and I’m looking forward to it all.
“I’m happy to be playing in the English Premier League because everyone knows it’s the strongest league in the world.
“There are simply a lot of top teams. I want to prove myself there. It’s a new challenge for me, a new task. I want to improve further under the boss and in the team. I’m really excited about it.”
The departure of the German international was greeted with shock by some of his former team-mates, so highly is the player rated among his peers. — The Mirror.
Online Reporter