Wenger impressed by Jeffers’ form
Wenger saw Jeffers come on as a late substitute at Goodison Park on Wednesday night to create Everton's equaliser in the 1-1 draw which helped keep the Toffees clear of relegation concerns and ensured Arsenal lost ground on leaders Manchester United.
Jeffers, an Everton youth product, had an unhappy spell at Highbury after moving south in the summer of 2001 and he is currently back on Merseyside on a season-long loan.
But Wenger witnessed the damage the England player is capable of as Everton battled back to claim a deserved draw which leaves Arsenal three points behind United.
The Arsenal manager responded by hinting he may want Jeffers to return to London when his loan ends.
Wenger said: "I wanted to give Franny an opportunity to play, to go back to his old environment and to gain confidence again.
"He has made one step forward in that he has not been injured for a long time. I am sure that if he stays without injury he can come back to his best."
Jeffers has made only two starts in the league this season, and last night's decisive cameo was his eighth substitute appearance.
Even so Wenger saw enough to consider Jeffers' long-term future could be back at Highbury.
"The competition is very high at Everton. He will certainly come back to us at the end of the season. I cannot say what will happen then, though."
Whether Everton could afford to buy back Jeffers who left for £8million is doubtful. But his success in setting up Tomasz Radzinski's equaliser gave Goodison boss David Moyes plenty to cheer.
Moyes must have been grateful, in fact, that Wenger did not ask that Jeffers be withdrawn from the match.
He confirmed: "We would only have not played Franny if we had been asked by Arsenal not to and we were not asked that question."
Wenger insists he never considered asking Everton not to play Jeffers.
"I am completely against that rule. That rule is immoral. If you take the rule to its extent it means the rich can give to the poor but then they cannot be allowed to harm us. The rule is immoral and should be illegal."
Wenger admitted afterwards his side were still worried after the 2-1 defeat they suffered at Goodison last season.
Everton clearly got under Arsenal's skin that day and could sense their fear of another slugging match and that is exactly what the Gunners got.
"Everton never gave up. They fought very hard and forced us into a game we did not like. That kind of game disrupted us mentally as well as football-wise," said Wenger.
"They decided to lift the ball into the air and make a fight of it. We were edgy, nervous and did not have our usual stability to keep the ball. The longer you go without scoring the second goal the more worrying it is."
"I feel that the mental shock we got last season here was still there; we were never ourselves, and that played a part in the game for us."
Moyes saw plenty of similarities with the unexpected victory his team earned over Arsenal back in October 2002.
"It was so much like the game last season when we won here," he said.
"I would not say we dominated, because we were never going to out-pass Arsenal.
"But we made sure Arsenal knew they were in a game. I recall listening to Gordon Strachan say that his Southampton side recently had shown fear at playing Arsenal and they were given a good hiding.
"But our players were not fearful. They wanted to get close to Arsenal all night, to stop them and to compete. We did not give them time or space."
"We have to lessen the impact when we play the better players; we must work them hard, compete and stop them."
