Henry planning a summer of toil

And with the future of Van Persie still open to doubt following rape allegations made against the 21-year-old Dutchman, Wenger could well find his resources stretched to the limit and without Henry, there would be severe problems.

This is also a huge season for France. They are anything but favourites to qualify from their group to reach next summer's World Cup finals in Germany with the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland the two fancied teams to go through.

France play a massive game in Dublin against Ireland in September and French manager Raymond Domenech believes that Henry has a key role to play in that clash.

Wenger also wants to persuade Henry to extend his stay at Arsenal. The 27-year-old has two years left on his contract and is high on the wish list of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Arsenal will reject any approach for the player but they also know that if he fails to agree a new deal then next summer his value will drop hugely from £30million to less than half that figure. Chairman Peter Hill-Wood has already confirmed that the club want Henry to sign an extension.

Wenger, meanwhile, plans to meet with Ashley Cole soon after he reports back for pre-season training on 12 July in a bid to find a resolution to the defender's future uncertainty at the club. And Cole will not be the only player wanting to speak to the manager. Freddie Ljungberg, with only one year left on his contract, has made it clear he wants his future sorted out before the start of the new season. Brazilian Gilberto Silva is in a similar position.

Another player in his last season is France international Robert Pires. He wants two years on top of that contract while Arsenal's policy concerning players of 30-plus is to offer one year at a time. Without agreement, the midfielder can leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.

As for new players, Wenger was at least given some hope that he may still prise Belarus international Aleksander Hleb from Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart. Wenger has been highly impressed with the midfielder - but not so impressed that he is willing to offer the initial asking price of close to £12m. Arsenal offered £4.75m and that was rejected.

But new manager Giovanni Trapattoni said earlier this week that he does not want unhappy players at the club and if Hleb insists on a move, then a compromise fee of around £8.5m is a possibility.

Wenger is also keen to bring Shaun Wright-Phillips to Highbury but he is unlikely to spend the bulk of his transfer kitty on the progressive England midfielder, who Manchester City value at £20m.

However, Wenger does have players he can offer in part-exchange like England Under-21 midfielder David Bentley - who went on loan at Norwich last season - and goalkeeper Stuart Taylor. Arsenal were also linked this week with Real Madrid midfield player Guti who is rated in the £7m bracket.