Monday, 3rd February, 2014
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that if he had been in the position of having longer before the transfer window slammed shut to find a midfielder then he would probably not have signed an injured Kim Kallstrom.
Wenger moved to snap up the veteran Sweden star on loan for the rest of the season from Spartak Moscow, but it has since emerged that the 31-year-old has a back injury, which was picked up in his medical.
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The best-case scenario for Arsenal would be Kallstrom's return by the middle of this month, but he could end up being out of action for longer.
And given this, Wenger admits that if there had been more time to find an alternative, he would have pulled out of the loan agreement.
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"Yes of course [pulling out of] it crossed my mind", he said via his club's site.
"I would not have signed him if we had two or three more days to do something, but it was Friday night at five o'clock, so it was [a case of] you [sign] nobody or you do it under these conditions", the Frenchman continued.
"I decided to do it because we might, because of the number of games we have now in February, we might need the players in March or April.
"There is a possibility [that he may not play] but as well there is the possibility that he scores us the winning goal that might be vitally important."
And Wenger thinks only time will tell whether he has made the right call on Kallstrom.
"At some stage in our job you have to make a decision. Are you wrong or right? You will only know at the end of the season."
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