Mikel Arteta fears “uncertainty” over the returns of Arsenal’s injured players will complicate the club’s transfer business this summer.
Arsenal are expected to be busy in the summer window as Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Berta seek to strengthen a squad that is on track to finish second in the Premier League for a third season in a row.
The Gunners are hoping to complete the singing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and are known to be in the market for marquee additions at centre-forward and on the right-wing.
A new reserve goalkeeper and cover in defence and midfield - where Thomas Partey and Jorginho are out of contract - could also be on the agenda.
However, Arteta says assessing his squad’s needs is made more difficult by the number of players who are set to head into next season on the back of significant injuries.
Centre-back Gabriel and forward Kai Havertz are both hoping to be back for preseason, having seen their campaigns curtailed by serious hamstring injuries.
Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are not due to return until the back end of the year, while Bukayo Saka and Ben White are only just returning after lengthy spells on the sidelines.
“It makes it harder because there are some players who will start the season after surgical intervention and that’s always a big question mark,” Arteta said.
“There are areas where we have quite a bunch of those players and that brings uncertainty because we don’t know how capable those players are going to be to sustain congested periods. So, that’s something that we are very busy with.
“Let's see if it affects, but we have to be very conscious of that because there are a lot of uncertainties in relation to what some of those players are going to be able to cope with, especially for the first five, six months of the season.”
