Teenage French striker Nicolas Anelka will go back on the learning-bench for Arsenal's Coca-Cola Cup quarter final at West Ham tomorrow after another flop forced manager Arsene Wenger to admit that Ian Wright's declining goal-power is still badly needed by his misfiring side.
Anelka, 18, disappointed again in the goalless draw with lowly Port Vale at Highbury on Saturday which forces Arsenal into an embarrassing and potentially humiliating FA Cup third round replay at the Potteries a week on Tuesday.
"It is not just Anelka's fault that we could not score," insisted Wenger, who substituted the striker with 20 minutes to go, "but he has not produced as much as I had hoped he would.
"He is still inexperienced, of course, and his anticipation is not quite quick enough for me. "Nicolas could still find the determination and aggression he needs but at Arsenal you cannot keep players in the team for very long if they are not producing."
Wenger watched as Bergkamp blew a golden chance 17 minutes from time before Vale keeper Paul Musselwhite brilliantly kept out substitutes Stephen Hughes and Christopher Wreh, as Port Vale hung on grimly for the draw.
ARSENAL: Seaman, Winterburn, Vieira, Bould, Anelka (Wreh 69), Bergkamp, Overmars, Parlour (Boa Morte 69), Keown, Petit (Hughes 46), Grimandi. Subs Not Used: Manninger, Upson.
PORT VALE: Musselwhite, Hill, Tankard, Bogie, Aspin, Snijders, Ainsworth, Porter, Talbot, Naylor (Foyle 79), Corden. Subs Not Used: Van Heusden, Mills, Glover, Jansson. Booked: Porter, Corden, Talbot.
Referee: P E Alcock (Redhill).
