Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta teases January transfer plans as Gunners 'are a bit short'

Mikel Arteta has hinted that Arsenal could look to strengthen in the upcoming January window by admitting that he is ‘really short’ on available players at the moment. The Gunners are currently without a number of injured first-team stars, with the likes of Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu among those on the treatment table as things stand.

Kai Havertz will also be unavailable to face West Ham on Thursday night after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Liverpool over the weekend. Arteta spoke about his growing injury and suspension list in Wednesday’s press conference before going on to admit that he will be looking to recruit more bodies next month in a bid to add extra cover.

Quizzed on whether Partey and Tomiyasu are nearing a return to action, he said: “Nothing has changed with those two, we won’t have them available yet. I think it’s five players missing. We are a bit short but the team has been doing well and we have enough players willing to play.

“There is a chance [they will return before next month’s international fixtures]. They haven’t trained with the team yet, we will see.”

Arteta went on to suggest that Arsenal could be active in the January window, revealing that certain targets have already been identified in advance of the winter market. He added: “We have certain targets and ideas. We don’t know how the squad is going to look in two weeks time. It’s a very tricky market that shifts quite quickly.

“If there is something that can improve the squad, we’re always going to be open to do that. At the moment it’s very difficult, we are really short. There are areas where we’ve been exposed in the last few weeks. Hopefully we get players back. In what condition and when, that’s a different question.”

Arteta will certainly be hoping for Arsenal to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they face West Ham in their next fixture. The Gunners were knocked off top spot by Liverpool on Boxing Day but will be desperate to topple their Merseyside rivals between now and the end of the campaign, starting with a win over the Hammers on Thursday night.

Quizzed on whether Arsenal have learned any lessons from last season after losing out to Manchester City in the title race, Arteta said: “I hope so, but we have to prove it every day. The competition is incredible, you can see the results and how surprised we get when you see the scores. It’s the beauty of this league. We will have to be at our best to beat West Ham and then Fulham.”

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