West Ham United 1 Arsenal 2: Wenger waiting to see state of the market

The Gunners started 2010 by booking their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup when they came from behind to beat West Ham at Upton Park.

Wenger, left, openly admits he would like to strengthen his squad – Holland striker Robin van Persie is absent with a long-term injury – but remains unsure just what the January sales will bring.

He said: "As many people say – I have the money, I have the desire, but I do not have the player.

"I do not know what will happen (in the transfer window generally]. Basically, it depends how the big guns – Manchester City and Chelsea – will move. Where will they buy? If they buy from English clubs, the market will be busy.

"If they do not buy from English clubs, I think the market will be very quiet because there is not a lot of money around."

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola, meanwhile, is not expecting to sell key men such as England duo Robert Green and Matthew Upson this month to help balance the books at Upton Park.

David Gold, who recently sold his stake in Birmingham, is ready to launch a cut-price bid to buy the debt-laden Hammers, whose Icelandic owners are open to potential offers – with a reported valuation of around 100m.

"Bringing somebody in would be nice, but I hope that the team at least remains the same, that is the most important thing, because when we have everybody back, it is going to be a different story," said Zola.

"Everybody knows the financial situation. I think we have stability and do not have big problems. I am not expecting to have anybody leaving. If it will change, I do not know, but I am hoping not."

Wenger's side were subsequently handed a fourth-round trip to Stoke after a side featuring Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere came from behind to beat the Hammers at Upton Park.

Alessandro Diamanti gave the Hammers the lead in first-half stoppage time but the Gunners stormed back as Aaron Ramsey equalised in the 78th minute after combining with Vela in the box before Eduardo's towering header five minutes later took them into the fourth round.

Wenger added: "At the moment we have nine injuries.

"We needed to fight very hard to go through and we need some players to come back from injury to cope with the competitions we're in."

As for the draw, which handed his side a trip to the Potteries, Wenger said: "It (the opposition) doesn't really matter, what's important is the performance (we produce)."