Jonas Eidevall has revealed Arsenal will look to make some new signings in January after losing star attacker Vivianne Miedema to an ACL injury.
Miedema was stretchered off during the Gunners' 1-0 defeat to Lyon last week and it was confirmed on Monday the 26-year-old has ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament. She becomes the second Arsenal player to be sidelined with the injury in a matter of weeks after England forward Beth Mead also tore her ACL during Arsenal's 3-2 loss at home to Manchester United in late November.
Both players will now undergo surgery and face a race against time to be fit for next summer's FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Asked whether the double inury blow will affect Arsenal's transfer business in January, Eidevall said: “Does Viv’s injury alter our plans in January? A little bit, it does. It makes the need for us to be more active in the January transfer window, of course it does.
"I hope we can be active. It’s about finding the right players. We have to take into consideration that if we succeed in all competitions, we could end up playing 26 matches from January until May.
“Of course you need a squad that can handle playing 26 matches in a limited time, so it is a very important transfer window for us.”
Eidevall was speaking ahead of Arsenal's Champions League clash with Zurich, which will take place at the Wefox Arena in Schaffhausen on Wednesday evening. The Gunners are already through to March's knock-out stages but spurned an opportunity to seal top spot in their group when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against reigning champions Lyon last week.
The French side are level with Arsenal on 10 points ahead of their final group game with Juventus, however the North Londoners' superior goal difference and head-to-head record with Lyon means a victory over Zurich will likely see them finish as group winners.
Jonas Eidevall's side beat the Swiss champions 3-1 in the reverse fixture at the Emirates in October, however the Arsenal boss is expecting a tough game when his side take to the field on Wednesday.
"The result maybe tells another narrative than their performance," Eidevall said of the Gunners' last meeting with Zurich.
"Both against Lyon and Juventus at times they created some really, really good opportunities in those games. They’re a tactically flexible team.
"They can play with two forwards or one forward. A lot of the time that changes depending on which phases they are in.
"They’re a side I have a lot of respect for especially here at their home ground and we need to make a very strong performance in order to get the result. "
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