Arsène Wenger has admitted that he would not have sanctioned the loan signing of Kim Kallstrom if there was more time to find an alternative and knows that the injured Swede might never play for Arsenal.
A scan at around 5pm on Friday, the deadline day of the transfer window, revealed that Kallstrom, who had flown in from Abu Dhabi, has a microfracture on his back and will be ruled out for around six weeks.
Wenger almost cancelled the deal but, after Spartak Moscow agreed to continue paying Kallstrom’s wages for at least another six weeks, he eventually went through with Arsenal’s only January signing. “It crossed my mind not to complete the deal,” Wenger said.
“I would not have signed him if we’d had two or three more days to do something. It was 5pm, so sign him or nobody. We had to sign him in these conditions. We might need the players in March or April. We think it will be four to six weeks out.”
The problem for Arsenal, however, is that they wanted a holding midfield specifically to cover the next six weeks. Aaron Ramsey is out for that period with a thigh injury, Mathieu Flamini is suspended for two more games while Jack Wilshere has been carrying an ankle injury, although hopes to return against Liverpool next week. Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will also be assessed on Monday after suffering knocks in the 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday, although neither injury is thought to be serious.
Wenger first reassessed his midfield options after Ramsey sustained a recurrence of his thigh injury during training last Monday. Kallstrom hurt his back while playing on the beach in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday but the full severity of the problem was not evident until he arrived in London and had two back scans on Friday. It all means that Arsenal’s search for short-term midfield cover ended with a player who is unavailable in the short-term.
Asked if Kallstrom might never play for Arsenal, Wenger said: “There is a possibility for every single player but there’s also the chance he scores a winning goal that’s vitally important. We will only know if we’re wrong or right at the end of the season. I made the decision because, across midfield, we have had players who have suffered injuries. A few of them might miss the next part together but it’s true that we have not sorted the problem out in the next four to six weeks.
“You have to identify a player who has the quality to play for us. You don’t want to be locked into a deal for three or four years, where you pay them to do nothing. You can as well make a massive mistake that can cost you three or four years.”
Written by Steve Milne
