Mikel Arteta says Arsenal cannot afford to rest on their laurels and must take full advantage of the January transfer window.
The Gunners are currently sat top of the Premier League and five points clear of Manchester City ahead of their Boxing Day clash with West Ham.
Manager Arteta, however, has urged Arsenal to kick on and says they will be “active” in January to bolster their squad.
Arsenal are currently in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over a deal for winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, while they also want a midfielder and a left-sided centre-back.
“We are going to be active and active means we are looking to strengthen the team,” said Arteta. “This squad still doesn’t have the luxury of not maximising every single window. We have to do that because it’s really important.
“But then we have to get the right profile, it has to be the right player to take us to the next level. We will be in the market always active and we will assess the biggest opportunities that we have.
“You know there are a lot of teams with new coaches and new owners that are going to probably get again this window into a position that is never seen or experienced before, but we know that and we have to be active on it.”
Arsenal used the World Cup break to head to Dubai for some warm-weather training and friendlies. Before that, Arteta and sporting director Edu flew to the USA and met with the club’s owners, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
“We are always connected. I think that relationship is getting stronger and stronger,” said Arteta. “They’ve been over a few times and we’ve been there a few times.
“It’s a very special relationship right now to understand the way they think about sports, what they’ve done in other sports and with other franchises.
“The ambition is there and the alignment is certainly there as well. It’s certainly positive to spend some time together.”
Arteta has previously described his Arsenal squad as “short” and says the club will be wary about letting the likes of Cedric Soares leave, amid interest from Fulham.
“We know where we are in terms of the squad and numbers that we have. We’ll be extremely cautious about what we want to do in the window,” he added.
