Arsene Wenger must take responsibility for the Kallstrom fiasco

Kallstrom is out for six weeks due to an injury

Only Arsene Wenger can make a complete mess in the following transfer window after pulling off an incredible coup in the previous one.

The Arsenal manager made just one signing in January in the form of Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom who arrived at the London club on loan from Spartak Moscow on deadline day. It made perfect sense to get a player on loan instead of purchasing one as it it almost impossible to get a world class player in the middle of the season.

The 31-year-old was bought to fill in for the injured Aaron Ramsey who is out for a month with injury. Things took a turn for the worst when it was revealed that Kallstrom was injured when he arrived at Arsenal and could be out for upto six weeks.

Gunners fans were incensed when it was made news that Wenger knew about the players injury when he signed him. Wenger’s blunder is going to cost him as there are some extremely important games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich this month and any slip up could be costly for Arsenal – who have been brilliant this season.

These months are important as they will help decide who will lift the Premier League trophy in May. Kallstrom is a sturdy midfielder and is capable of controlling a game but is as good as useless to the Gunners now. Arsene Wenger will face a lot of flak in the coming months for his mistake.

Wenger was made aware of the injury when Kallstrom arrived in London but should have taken precautions before signing the player.

Ramsey was injured on Boxing Day which was over a month ago giving Wenger enough time to get a lowdown about Kallstrom before signing him. Wenger’s only saving grace is that Spartak will pay Kallstrom his wages for as long as he is injured.

Wenger should have taken an example from former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson who faced a similar situation with Ruud Van Nistelrooy in 2000.

Sir Alex first spotted Van Nistelrooy in 2000 and almost signed him for £18.5 million that summer but the move was put on hold due to the players fitness. Ferguson had to wait for almost a year before finally signing the Dutchman in 2001.

Wenger could have done some more research on the players fitness instead of just blindly signing him. If Wenger saw Kallstrom as a capable backup then he should have waited until the summer to acquire his services. Now the Swede will just become an eyesore at Arsenal until he is fit.

Wenger will now have a problem in selecting players in the midfield for the vital games in February and will have to wait until the summer to get reinforcements.

It will be a pity if Arsenal stutter and end up not winning the Premier League this season after so much hard work.

But if this season is anything to go by then Arsenal are capable of coming good even when the odds are stacked against them. Arsenal have faltered in this transfer window but can bounce back in the summer much like they did last year.