Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal’s preparation for the January transfer window is done and the club are ‘ready’ should opportunities present themselves.
Arsenal have been dealt a huge blow with Bukayo Saka set for an extended spell on the sidelines with a suspected torn hamstring. Arteta has also revealed that Raheem Sterling is facing ‘many weeks’ out, leaving the Gunners short in the final third.
The transfer window opens on January 1st and Arteta was asked whether he could look to invest to combat those losses. Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Ipswich, he suggested Arsenal are ‘ready’ to pull the trigger if the right player is available.
“Yes, the preparation is done and we are ready if something happens,” Arteta said.
“Obviously we didn’t predict a situation with Bukayo and Raheem. At the same time we predicted if something happened, for example in the defensive line.
“But the job is done and then, OK, if something has to happen we’ll be open. But the main focus is now how to unlock the potential that is in this squad.”
Arteta spoke further on potential internal replacements and believes he has options in his squad to replace Saka. He hinted Gabriel Martinelli could move to the right after doing so at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“Yeah, that’s the first one we went through, especially because he’s played there before.
“He played the last match there against Everton and the last match of the season. He did really well. He did really well the other day, he scored a goal and created an assist and is a good option to have.
“Gabby [Jesus] has played there. Ethan [Nwaneri] has played there, Leo [Trossard] can play there in relation to how that unit moves. Kai [Havertz] can play there, asking him different things.
“We will see, try different things and ask how they feel about it.”
