The dashing of the hopes that Paul Jewell would be able to unleash his dream C-force strike pairing against Arsenal gives City's existing strikers a chance to prove a point.

The Bantams boss hoped to sign both Stan Collymore and Jorge Cadete this week to bolster his side for their Premiership survival bid.

But Aston Villa have slapped a £3 million price tag on Collymore which is beyond City's budget with chairman Geoffrey Richmond initially hoping to snap up the 29-year-old on a free transfer.

The Cadete saga has also taken several twists this week with the Benfica striker due to arrive on Monday only for City to find out 90 minutes before his expected arrival he was not travelling.

City then hoped to see him the following day only for it to be revealed that Cadete was ill and would be staying in Portugal.

The Bantams hope to meet the ex-Celtic striker in the next few days with a view to a deal to keep him at City until the end of the season.

That means Jewell looks likely to go into the Arsenal clash on Saturday with the same squad that beat Watford in City's last outing 12 days ago.

Dean Windass, Dean Saunders, Lee Mills and Robbie Blake will have been closely watching the events of the past two weeks. All four have played up front this season but the prospect of one or two new faces arriving would understandably leave a couple worried about their future.

But with Jewell's C-force failing to materialise for the Arsenal clash, whoever starts the game has a great chance to press their claims for staying in the side.

Windass and Saunders linked up for the first time against the Hornets and impressed.

Admittedly the contrast between the Hornets' defence and Arsenal's famed back-line could not be more marked. But I believe both men did enough against Watford to earn another chance in the absence of any new signings arriving at Valley Parade.

The pair struck up a great understanding and it would be tough on either if they had to make way for the sell-out clash with the Gunners.

Mills and Blake played a huge part in City's promotion last term and, though Mills is top scorer, neither man has enjoyed the season they hoped for in the summer.

At times Mills has looked at home in the Premiership and his run of scoring in four successive home games helped City turn their season around between October and December last year.

But niggling injuries have dogged him since the New Year, and despite an excellent goal against Chelsea his place in the side is certainly not guaranteed.

Blake's contract saga has been well documented but it has been frustrating for all City fans to see the striker fail to make the impact everyone expected in the top flight.

With his current deal set to expire in 15 months, it will be interesting to see whether City decide to cash in on a player who attracted a £2 million-plus bid from Blackburn last summer.

In common with his three fellow strikers, Blake must feel he can take advantage of City's frustrating two weeks in the transfer market against Arsenal on Saturday.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.