Arsene Wenger has firmly denied reports that Dinamo Zagreb striker Mario Mandzukic is a January transfer target for Arsenal.Mandzukic, 23, was reported to be under consideration as Arsenal assess their attacking options in light of the long-term injury suffered by Robin van Persie.
The Croatia international, who scored his country’s only goal when Theo Walcott’s hat-trick helped England record a 4-1 win in Zagreb in September 2008, was himself a replacement for Eduardo when the striker joined Arsenal in the summer of 2007.
But Mandzukic will not be following in Eduardo’s footsteps by moving to North London, according to Wenger.
„No,” Wenger told the club’s official website. „You will hear a few names until the end of the transfer window without there being any truth in it.”
Arsenal have been linked with Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh, Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg and Cluj star Lacina Traore but Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner is close to a return to fitness which may convince Wenger not to enter the transfer market.
