Robin van Persie could be back in action by early April following surgery on an ankle ligament injury.
Arsenal had previously said that the player would be out for longer but his international manager Bert van Marwijk is more optimistic.
Van Persie was in fine form for club and country before he suffered an ankle ligament injury 10 minutes into an international friendly with Italy on 14th November.
Wenger had given the player a new role as central striker in a front three and the move was paying dividends for the north London side.
The striker, who joined Arsenal for a fee in the region of £3m from Feyenoord in 2004, had scored eight goals in 16 matches in all competitions.
Having spoken to van Persie on the telephone, van Marwijk said:
I hope that he will play at the beginning of April and he feels this is may be possible.
You can hear it in his voice that he feels he is improving.
He is a very important player for me so it is very important for me that he is fit.
