Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will be ‘actively looking’ for new signings in the January transfer window, with injuries on the manager’s mind.
Things are going very nicely for the Gunners so far this season, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables.
Arteta is far from comfortable, though, with Manchester City and Aston Villa chasing them impressively domestically and an awful long way to go in Europe.
Arsenal have also been suffering with a number of injuries to big players, which they have been coping with pretty admirably.
The current injured list features Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Max Dowman.
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Other than teenager Dowman, none of those injured players are expected to be out for very long, but Arteta is cautious on how his squad will handle the demands of competing in four competitions, which they still are.
The Spaniard says the club will be ‘actively looking’ for possible signings during January and will be ready to strike if they feel they need to.
‘We’re going to be really aware of the situation and the timescale of certain players,’ said the Arsenal manager.
‘We have to be actively looking, and then can we do it or not? That’s a different story, but our job is to be always very prepared because something can happen.’
On the possibility of players departing next month, Arteta suggested that was more down to sporting director Andrea Berta to decide.
‘Again, we assess every situation. I leave that much more to Andrea to understand what’s happening in the market and then, individual players,’ said Arteta.
‘Obviously, we have to assess where we are with each of them and get the best situation.’
Arteta plotting Villa revenge
The Gunners are back in action on Tuesday night against Aston Villa at the Emirates in a crunch clash at the top of the table.
Unai Emery’s side is on an 11-match winning run in all competitions and Villa are just three points behind Arsenal in the Premier League.
One of those 11 wins was over Arsenal at Villa Park earlier this month, when the home team scored an injury time goal to secure a 2-1 victory.
‘We’ll watch it back,’ said Arteta of their last meeting with the Villains. ‘I have a few ideas and things that we have to do better. And it was quite cruel, as well, the way we lost it. But yeah, we learned from it.’