The January stocking

December is all about expectation. For Gooners, eyes are maybe shinier before the January transfer window than before Christmas!

In the last week or so, three rumours have eclipsed all others. Club legend Thierry Henry will return for a second loan spell. Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will make a cut-price move from Schalke in Germany. Arsenal will bid for Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace and, recently, England.

But what will happen? What can Arsène Wenger expect to find if he hangs up his stockings in the New Year?

The Henry deal is already being reported as done, like in the Daily Mail today. Arsenal are said to want this loan deal to extend to the end of the season, not just six weeks like last season. Thierry Henry's employer, New York Red Bulls, will probably be sceptical. The Frenchman is their key player, and at 35 he's not guaranteed to stay fit without a proper pre-season.

Huntelaar has made it clear that he won't sign a new deal with Schalke when his current contract expires in the summer. Arsenal aren't the only club who want to capitalize in those situations. Huntelaar will come cheaply, it's widely reported. At 29, the Dutch striker will be an unusual Wenger signing. However, there is no proper competition for Olivier Giroud in the current squad. Huntelaar can be a quick-fix.

When it comes to Zaha, there are several clubs interested and involved. Not least his current club, Crystal Palace, who intend to keep him at least until the end of the season. In a season where they are competing for a return to the Premier League, selling their only England international for years and years is hardly the smart thing to do. Interest from, among others, Manchester United can jeopardise the move. The young winger being a Gooner won't necessarily help Arsenal ahead of the queue of suitors.

Meanwhile, any January stocking of Wenger's will have a small hole by the toe. Through that, we have to expect Theo Walcott to escape to a better salary and a central striker berth elsewhere. Arsenal are by all accounts fed up with the England winger's indecision and his advisors' dragging of feet. Wenger's comments about keeping him to his contract instead of selling him in January sound hollow.