Arsenal expected to sign Thierry Henry for 2 months

Thierry Henry at his peak with Arsenal  Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Arsenal is expected to offer their record goalscorer Thierry Henry a contract until the beginning of March.

Gerviniho will not be available during the African Cup of Nations. The 2 months loan deal with New York Red Bulls would prove vital for this period of time.

There is growing optimism at Arsenal about the deal and Mertesacker is very confident in the 34-year-old Frenchman.

"I am very happy to play against him in training and it is a great experience," Mertesacker said.

"He is playing very, very good. He is a great opportunity for us but I'm not the manager. I couldn't make a decision on what is possible for him or for us. In training, he shows his class and to have him with us is great because he shows his attitude, his experience. He still has the same attitude he showed in a lot of games at Arsenal."

Mertesacker also linked his German international teammate Podolski.

With 43 goals in his 95 Germany caps, Podolski has an outstanding international record and has been in excellent form so far this season for Cologne, scoring 14 times in 15 Bundesliga games.

"He is a great player," said Mertesacker of the Poland-born forward. "He scores a lot of goals. He’s a good striker with a very good finish. His left foot is unbelievable. He is powerful as well. The Premier League is a little different from the Bundesliga, but you get used to everything."

Wenger has a transfer fund of around £50 million while Podolski would be valued at around £18 million and so would fall within Arsenal’s price-range.