Wenger plays down bid for Bellamy

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted his liking for Craig Bellamy, but played down any talk of a move for the Manchester City forward.

Recent reports have suggested Arsenal could make a surprise move for 30-year-old Bellamy as they look to bring in a new striker to bolster their squad in the January transfer window.

Bellamy's future at City has been the subject of intense speculation in the wake of Mark Hughes's departure with rumours claiming Bellamy was unhappy with the manner of the sacking of Hughes.

However, Bellamy has recently pledged his future to City and Wenger admits he is unlikely to make any bid for the Welshman despite being an admirer of his talents.

"I like the player," Wenger said of Bellamy. "But I have not done anything on that front."

"I don't think we can buy players from Man City."

Wenger also revealed Nicklas Bendtner has suffered a setback in his recovery to fitness. Bendtner has been out of action since October after being forced to undergo a hernia operation. The Dane was expected to return in December, but he is now struggling with a groin problem and is set to be out for three more weeks.

"He had hernia surgery and should be back already," added Wenger. "But he had a groin problem as well and the groin problem looks to last longer, so they say to me three weeks."