Arsenal Transfer Prospects: Can Jens Lehman Save Arsene Wenger's Fortunes?

Injuries have played a huge part in Arsenal's demise this season.

The 2007-2008 campaign looked destined for the Gunners to achieve silverware success, yet season-ending injuries to Eduardo Da Silva and Tomas Rosicky, during similar times to now, derailed Arsene Wenger's men.

The North London giants ended the season without the joy of trophies and finished third in the English Premier League table after dominating for a large portion of the season.

This season has continued the frustrating trend; just over two weeks ago, the Gunners were in superb form, fending off the powerful advances of Spanish kings Barcelona to win 2-1 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.

Arsene Wenger believed his side had the ability to achieve the almost impossible "quadruple", succeeding in the FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League and the EPL.

Yet now the Gunners have only the opportunity to secure the EPL Trophy after a whirlwind of losses.

After conceding a final minute goal to Birmingham City in the Carling Cup Final, the club followed with an embarrassing performance against Barcelona in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League, in which the Gunners lost 3-1 and were completely outplayed.

Their poor play concluded with a 2-0 loss to rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup, although Arsenal were arguably the better side and created numerous attacking chances, but superb keeping and being unable to finish thwarted the young Gunners.

Only days prior to the Carling Cup debacle, the Gunners encountered Stoke City, a match that was set to commence in December but due to the fierce English winter was postponed till February.

Arsenal secured victory thanks to a Sebastien Squillaci header, but the win came at cost: Wenger lost Theo Walcott to an ankle injury and captain/midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas to a recurring hamstring strain.

The pair had been in tremendous form and had been integral to Arsenal's recent attacking plaudits.

The duo missed the Carling Cup defeat, and whilst Fabregas managed to feature against Barcelona, the Spaniard was evidently off the pace. Both were unavailable for Sir Alex Ferguson's FA Cup triumph.

Walcott is expected to return in around two weeks whilst Fabregas may be slightly shorter.

Fortunately there is sufficient depth to cover the vacant positions left by the duo—some of the Arsenal faithful will disagree—but there is no denying a worse injury occurred against Barcelona.

Polish shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny suffered a dislocated finger and ruptured ligaments after containing a Daniel Alves free kick in the opening stages of the match. The Polish keeper is estimated by Wenger to miss at least six weeks of football.

This is a monumental blow, as Arsenal had already lost predominant first-choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski to a season-ending shoulder injury in January.

Since Fabianski's injury, Szczesny has been superb at the front of the helm, conceding only four goals in seven EPL appearances.

The 20-year-old looked to have cured the long-lasting keeping conundrum at the Emirates but his injury now has the Arsenal goal under a cloud.

With both Fabianski and Szczesny injured, Wenger only has the much maligned and experienced Manuel Almunia in terms of fit first-team keepers.

Almunia has impressed in the two recent performances, but there is question to whether the Spaniard is capable of adequately defending the Arsenal goal.

This is why Wenger is looking to aid the situation by resigning Jens Lehmann.

The German, who is often brandished as a somewhat crazy figure, enjoyed five seasons in North London, where the 41-year-old was the first-choice keeper in Arsenal's invincible 2003-2004 season, and was voted UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year in 2005-2006.

Although rash performances towards the end of his Arsenal career saw Lehman depart in 2008, there is no denying the experienced keeper is a quality presence who would instill much needed leadership and a winning mentality into the Arsenal line up.

With over a 199 appearances for the Gunners, Lehmann would enter the Arsenal squad as one of the few players to have actually won something in the red and white—a definite psychological boost for the Gunners.

But at 41, Lehmann is not exactly in his prime, and although Manchester United's Edwin Van Der Sar, 40, was superb in thwarting Arsenal in the FA Cup, it's unlikely the former AC Milan shot-stopper can do the same.

However, it would relieve the current goalkeeping situation and Lehmann's experience and leadership would be invaluable as the Gunners attempt to win the EPL for the first time since 2003-2004, which as stated, Lehmann was part of.