Arsene Wenger hides the cheque book in the safety of the trophy cabinet.

Arsenal have again refused to embroil themselves in the childish act of buying players to improve their team, instead opting to delve into the past for club talisman Thierry Henry.

The Frenchman is a legend, not only of Arsenal but the game itself. Whilst he still possesses his old distinguished poise and finesse on the ball, Henry is unfortunately roughly three times slower than when he was last at the Emirates. The move itself is not only a gift for Arsenal fans but a gift for fans of nostalgia.

When Henry caressed the ball into the bottom left hand corner against Leeds in that Fa Cup show down, you could sense football lovers everywhere shared the strikers delight. The mercurial Arsenal man finished with such assured potency, it was like 2004 all over again.

I for one will never forget that goal. It encapsulated the beauty of football, the unpredictable nature of the sport. It was however just that; a glorious moment. Thierry Henry won’t catapult the club into the Champions League, he might not even score again. But he does possess invaluable experience which could aid Arsenal’s serial bottlers. Overall, backed up by the big money buy the Gunners have been waiting years for, it’s a shrewd piece of business.

That’s where Borrussia Dortmund’s Thomas Eisfeld comes in… The 19 year old multi-thousand pound German is the attacking midfielder Arsenal have been crying out for. In three years he’s bound to become a superstar, only to then be sold on to Barcelona or City for an enormous profit.

Outgoings include the eccentric Emmanuel Frimpong, who should gain some good experience from getting relegated with Wolves, and the disappointing Sanchez Watt, who continues his career’s rapid descent down the football league with Crawley.

So with Wenger sticking to old form this window, spending less money than Yaya Toure earns in a fortnight, I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up a list of players the Gunners could and should have purchased.

 Chris Samba

Samba’s been touted for a move all January, yet no club has stuck their neck on the line and stumped the cash up for him. That’s because no club has needed to, except Arsenal. The Gunners’ defensive worries have only been exasperated by the insane signing of Per Mertesacker, and Samba would have added the steel and hunger missing from Wenger’s back line for years.

 Wayne Bridge/ Neil Taylor

I’ve put both left backs down depending on the club’s situation. As it was January, it would be unfair to say that Wenger could have easily prized Taylor away from the Swans without paying over the odds. But the left back is young, capable, and used to playing in a team which likes to play football. The quick fix option would have been Wayne Bridge.

There’s no doubt Bridge isn’t Arsenal quality, and was nothing short of appalling at West Ham, but given the right backing he could still do a decent job in the top flight. Either way, Wenger should have brought in a left back. With the excellent Thomas Vermaelen wasted in the position, and a near fully fit Kieran Gibbs bound to get injured again within the month, Wenger is unnecessarily weakening an already fragile rear guard.

 Lukas Podolski

Another player tipped to make a move this January, Podolski would have provided a variety of attacking options for Arsenal. At 26 the FC Koln striker is still young, but with formidable international and club experience to boot. With the option to play up front or on the wing, Podolski could have killed two birds with one stone in providing cover for the over used Van Persie, whilst pushing Andrey Arshavin further down the pecking order.

But for now Gunners fans will have to be happy with what they’ve got, and hope the summer brings a change in policy from their stubborn manager.

IN: Thomas Eisfeld (B Dortmund, £420,000), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls, Loan).
OUT: Luke Freeman (Stevenage, £200,000), Daniel Boateng (Swindon, Loan), Emmanuel Frimpong (Wolves, Loan), Sead Hajrovic (Barnet, Loan), Vito Mannone (Hull, Loan), Rhys Murphy (Preston, Loan), Sanchez Watt (Crawley, Loan), Wellington (Alcoyana, Loan).