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Wenger shows faith in his keepers

Arsene Wenger has pledged not to splash out on a new goalkeeper in the January sales
Arsene Wenger has pledged not to splash out on a new goalkeeper in the January sales

Arsene Wenger has shown his faith in keepers Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia ahead of Sunday's clash against Chelsea by pledging not to sign a replacement in the January transfer window.

Wenger has been considering a recall for Lehmann against Chelsea at Highbury, just a week after dropping him from the first team against Birmingham.

Almunia, has made a couple of bad mistakes in recent games sparking speculation that the Gunners’ boss would move to bolster his netminding options.

Wenger has been worried that the pressure is getting to the 27-year-old Spanish stand-in and has been mulling over whether to recall the more experienced Lehmann against Chelsea.

He would not confirm as much today, merely insisting: "The debate has gone on too long. Everyone has an opinion and I do not have to add to it."

However, despite the lack of an obvious current first choice, the Arsenal boss was keen to underline his faith in both of his keepers, by ruling out any move into the January transfer market to sign a replacement.

He has previously been linked with possible interest in Mark Schwarzer of Middlesbrough, Edwin van der Sar of Fulham and Sebastian Frey of Parma.

He also has no plans to recall ex-England U21 international Stuart Taylor from a loan spell at Leicester, even though Arsenal's former goalkeeping coach, Bob Wilson, believes Taylor should have been David Seaman's long-term successor.

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