Wenger targets left-back and may offer Henry short-term contract

ARSENE WENGER will prioritise a loan move for a left-back in January, after Kieran Gibbs underwent a second groin operation, and the Arsenal manager also said he would decide over the next week whether to offer a short-term contract to the club legend Thierry Henry.

Gibbs was admitted for the surgery after he suffered a setback in his recovery from the original operation – he has not played since mid-October – and although Wenger claimed the youngster would be out for only four weeks, the injuries that he has to defenders elsewhere in the squad will force him to look for cover. He wriggled when pressed over Wayne Bridge, the former England left-back, who is on the fringes at Manchester City, and he refused to rule out an offer for him.

Wenger was clear that he was looking for a “short-term solution” because in the longer term he was happy with his options. But he faces some weeks yet without his full complement.

Left-back Andre Santos is out until March with ankle ligament damage and, on the right, Carl Jenkinson has suffered a setback in his recovery from a stress fracture to the back and will not return for at least another four weeks. Bacary Sagna has targeted the end of next month for his comeback from a fractured fibula. Sagna has returned to training, although Wenger urged caution as he “saw him still limping a little bit”.

Wenger feels for Gibbs who, after the summer sale of Gael Clichy to Manchester City, had high hopes of establishing himself as the club’s first-choice left-back and making Fabio Capello’s England squad for Euro 2012. But Wenger predicted that the defender would return stronger and he said it was not too late for him to go to next summer’s finals.

“Gibbs is incredibly unlucky,” Wenger said. “But he can still play in the Euros because they are in June and we are in December. Normally, this injury would keep him out for four weeks so there is still a good opportunity.”

Henry, now with New York Red Bulls, has been training at Arsenal during the MLS close season and Wenger has considered turning to him as a stop-gap measure as he will lose Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho to the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on January 21st.

Whether the Red Bulls would sanction any loan for Henry is unclear and Wenger is also conscious of the potential for his compatriot to become a distracting sideshow. Only two weeks ago a statue of Henry was unveiled at the Emirates Stadium. How would the feted former star feel about being a mere squad player?