Mikel Arteta has hinted that Arsenal could look to strengthen in the upcoming January window by admitting that he is ‘really short’ on available players at the moment. The Gunners are currently without a number of injured first-team stars, with the likes of Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu among those on the treatment table as things stand.
Kai Havertz will also be unavailable to face West Ham on Thursday night after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Liverpool over the weekend. Arteta spoke about his growing injury and suspension list in Wednesday’s press conference before going on to admit that he will be looking to recruit more bodies next month in a bid to add extra cover.
Quizzed on whether Partey and Tomiyasu are nearing a return to action, he said: “Nothing has changed with those two, we won’t have them available yet. I think it’s five players missing. We are a bit short but the team has been doing well and we have enough players willing to play.
“There is a chance [they will return before next month’s international fixtures]. They haven’t trained with the team yet, we will see.”
Arteta went on to hint that Arsenal could be active in the January market, revealing that certain targets have already been identified in advance of the window opening. He added: “We have certain targets and ideas. We don’t know how the squad is going to look in two weeks time. It’s a very tricky market that shifts quite quickly.
“If there is something that can improve the squad, we’re always going to be open to do that. At the moment it’s very difficult, we are really short. There are areas where we’ve been exposed in the last few weeks. Hopefully we get players back. In what condition and when, that’s a different question.”
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