Bischoff signing 'a bit of a gamble' admits Wenger

BY JEM MAIDMENT Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits that the purchase of Amaury Bischoff is a gamble . The Portugal Under-21 midfielder arrived for an undisclosed fee from Werder Bremen after making just one appearance for the Bundesliga outfit. Wenger, t

BY JEM MAIDMENT

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits that the purchase of Amaury Bischoff is a "gamble". The Portugal Under-21 midfielder arrived for an undisclosed fee from Werder Bremen after making just one appearance for the Bundesliga outfit.

Wenger, though, knows him well. His father hails from the same Alsace region of France where Wenger's family home remains, and Bischoff played for the French Under-18s before switching allegiance to Portugal, the country of his mother's birth.

Bischoff is a flexible midfielder, who has played both wide right and in the centre but Wenger concedes he is not the finished product, adding: "We have to get him to a very good fitness level. He has talent but we'll have to wait two or three months to get him competitive. He has had two surgeries on his groin so it is a gamble on his talent."

Bremen, though, wanted him to stay. "We would be happy to have Amaury with us still - but he decided to leave," said Bremen managing director Klaus-Dieter Fischer.

As for Bischoff he says he is in no hurry to make his mark after so many injures. "Wenger has known me since my time at Strasbourg and believes in my quality," he said after being handed the No.28 shirt. "He trusts me to be in the first-team and has not put me under any pressure. He said: 'Take all the time you need.'