Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of the Premier League clash with Wolves. The Spaniard was asked whether or not the team will be strengthened in January and, as is becoming characteristic, he was coy in his response.
He said: "If we can improve the team, we are always going to be looking to do that as a club." There appear needs in both midfield and attack with the potential for injuries to key players always a threat.
Asked by football.london where he feels the squad is short Arteta was quick to shut down the idea that he believes that it was indeed lacking in depth.
"No," he replied. "This is a comment that I made the first day after the transfer window.
"It doesn’t mean it’s not good enough. It is short and we have used players like, for example, Marquinhos, who we had other plans but he has been an important player and a player who has the capacity.
"We have had injuries as well. Mo has been out for three months, Thomas was out for a period and we had Alex out for a long time too. We have had to adapt and we are willing to do that. The demands are going to be really big for everybody and we have to be ready for that."
The two players linked most heavily with a move are Brazilian Danilo and Ukrainian Mykhaylo Mudryk. football.london understands that the club may choose to revive their interest from the summer in Danilo with a formal move in January.
READ MORE: Arsenal press conference LIVE: Arteta on Wolves, team news, Tomiyasu return and World Cup break
Regarding the Shakhtar Donetsk winger, football.london understands that there is a long-standing interest although, despite some reports of a bid being made, this is unconfirmed at this time. Both players would add crucially quality to the team, in particular, to support the likes of Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli.
With Manchester City the teams main rivals, the comparison between squad depths is stark.
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