Wenger agrees: we need to buy a van Persie fill-in

Arsenal fans will be relieved that their sometimes stubborn manager, Arsene Wenger, has finally accepted that he must strengthen the Gunners in the January transfer window. In the meantime, after two defeats on the bounce in the Premier League, Arsenal will look for a strong comeback in tonight's Carling Cup quarter final against Manchester City.

Attributing his change of heart to the news that Robin van Persie (above) is to miss practically the rest of the season with an ankle injury, Wenger told Arsenal TV Online: "I didn't feel we were in the need to buy anybody but we will be out on the market, that is for sure now. However, we will only make a decision if it suits us."

Some of the names being bandied about to fill the van Persie-sized hole at the club are familiar to fans, such as summer target Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux and West Ham's Carlton Cole. But there are some names whose achievements have been limited to their national stages - André-Pierre Gignac of Toulouse from Ligue 1, and, from Serie A, Mario Balotelli of Internazionale and Giampaolo Pazzini of Sampdoria.

A couple of big names also in the mix are AC Milan's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and his former Real Madrid teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy. Whether the Emirates faithful would respond well to a player who shone for Manchester United is up for debate, though most Gunners fans will be happy enough to get any proven striker to get the team scoring again - Arsenal were goalless in the defeats against Sunderland and Chelsea.

The paucity of attacking options will be even more glaring should Emmanuel Adebayor play for Manchester City tonight and score against his old team. The Togolese striker was a goal machine in his first season with Arsenal, although his lack of goals during the last campaign was one of the reasons why Wenger was happy to sell him.

Meanwhile a row is developing at boardroom level threatening the peace that has reigned since Ivan Gazidis took over the club as chief executive. A Dispatches programme on Channel Four revealed that Arsenal's directors hired a private investigator to find out more about Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek billionaire who is the club's second-largest shareholder.

A furious Usmanov will ask whether the investigation was paid for out of club funds and whether they would have launched such a probe into the American sports billionaire Stan Kroenke, the club's largest shareholder who is currently on the verge of making a takeover bid for Arsenal. ·