At some point this season, perhaps in the close season, Arsene has some conversations to have with his forward line; Jeremie Aliadiare, Nicklas Bendtner, Arturo Lupoli and Anthony Stokes will all be sitting down with Le Boss and discussing their future, and to paraphrase Meatloaf (and with due apologies to Jim Steinman) the conversation will be something along the lines of, “I want you, I need you but there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna play you, Don’t Be Sad” – you’ll never listen to Bat Out Of Hell in the same light again – but you get the drift. Which of those individuals will be rewarded is open to some debate, publicly and privately within the club.

If it is on the basis of the individuals performances whilst on loan this and last season, then one immediate candidate for the exit door stands out: Jeremie Aliadiare. Having failed at West Ham and Celtic, he regained some of his reputation at Wolves under Mick McCarthy with some solid performances. Yet that is not enough to judge him on. A graduate of Clarefontaine – something Wenger holds in high regard – Aliadiere has worked hard to prove his fitness following serious injury. Just how highly Wenger rates him is shown by the extension to his contract that was signed whilst the player was still injured. And to be fair to him, prior to his injury he had shown glimpses of what he was capable of in rare outings in the Hokey-Cokey cup or as a substitute in the Premiership and Champions League. This season though is make or break for him; already he has made noises that he may have to leave in January to realise his potential. And therein lies his future. Much as I would like to see Aliadiere be given his chance, it is something I think will not truly come. His natural game is to be a predator, a direct replacement for Henry would seem to be his natural game. In this respect, time is against him if he wants to achieve his potential for Henry is likely to be around for several years yet. As a supporting striker, he has much to offer yet is not different enough to his countryman to make him an instant choice ahead of Adebayour on a regular basis.

What of the others? Anthony Stokes is currently deservedly garnering much press attention. His record in recent games is nothing short of phenomenal. Nine in four games (eleven in ten games in total), two hattricks, an equaliser that ultimately led to Celtic’s elimination from the CIS Cup, the SPL Young Player Of The Month and an international call-up caps a marvellous four weeks. Instant endearment in the hearts of Fakirk fans achieved with a hattrick at local rivals Dunfermline, at the moment the lad can do no wrong. He has impressed to such an extent that Falkirk now want him on loan until the end of the season and to be honest, it would probably be the best thing for him. Should he continue there would understandably be a clamour for him to be pushed into first team action at The Emirates post Christmas. Yet he has relatively speaking come from nowhere – Lupoli and Bendtner always had more attention in the reserves than he – to instant “fame” and it would probably do him good to build upon the good work thus far and see out the season in the SPL.

And what of those two? Lupoli has six goals this season and an Italian U-20 call-up to boot. By all accounts he has performed well for Derby this season, in media terms quietly. He appears to have built upon he Carling Cup runs of the past two years and last seasons Young Player of the Tournament. A rumoured loan deal with Ipswich never materialised last season and whilst he scored well for the Reserves, that could be seen as opportunity lost as I don’t think he would have been on loan this season had that come off. Currently he is Derby’s joint top scorer with six goals in eleven games. So to Nicklas Bendtner. Earlier this summer, his father was quoted as saying that if he did not get first team football, he would be looking elsewhere. Whether this represents the players view is not known but not an encouraging sign as he is the players representative. This led to some media speculation that Chelsea were sniffing around him. He subsequently went to Birmingham on loan which has proved equally as fruitful as Lupoli’s spell at Derby, seven goals in seventeen appearances is a decent return. Add to that the international appearances (two goals v Poland & Portugal, in three games) and Bendtner appears to be in prime position for a recall in January to supplement the first team squad. His height and build make him a natural rival for Adebayour as a partner for Henry. It appears that he is a more prolific goalscorer than the Togan.

For Arsene though these four present a headache, albeit a nice one. Personally, I believe he will allow Aliadiere to leave in January, recall Bendtner to the first team squad and leave Stokes and Lupoli where they are. I may be out of line but I would like both to go on loan again next season but this time to Premiership clubs in order to fully assess their readiness for the Arsenal team. That is of course unless one of them quotes the Reverend Al Green to Arsene, “So Tired Of Being On Loan” which would complicate matters. It could be an interesting January.