Mikel Arteta made it clear that Arsenal want to add a striker in January as he said they are “actively looking” to strengthen their ranks.
The Gunners have faced questions about their attacking resources all year, especially after opting not to bring in a productive frontman last summer. Scoring goals, especially from open play, has been a problem and Arteta is now without big names.
Bukayo Saka could be out for months, while Gabriel Jesus saw his season end with an ACL injury. Arsenal are the second highest scorers in the Premier League but still see big chances begging in games, which has cost them a lot of money.
Kai Havertz operated as a false 9 but was criticized for being wasteful in front of goal, and Rio Ferdinand asked Arteta directly if he planned to feature in the coming weeks.
He told TNT Sports: “Yes for sure, because we have lost two big players: Bukayo, who could be out for a maximum of three months, and Gabby, who will be out for a very, very, very long time. We are going to try [in this window] Certainly. We are actively looking. We'll try. Let's see what we can get.”
Arsenal again created a number of chances in the north London derby victory, but continued to muddy the lines as they failed to put Tottenham aside. Declan Rice wouldn't be surprised to see new faces emerge with the team clearly lacking.
He said: “Where we've lost Gabby, I'm sure the manager will be looking for something because we had to bring Tierney on to the left wing, we had to put on Zinchenko so we're a bit short up there so I'm not surprised if we going to do something.”
Arteta has underlined the difficulties Arsenal face in the market amid rumors of mega-money moves for some of Europe's top poachers.
He explained: “If you have to recruit a player, there are three sides and you have to agree to that. We have our limitations, just like any other club, so we can do what we can do. We plan our squad and we have our limits to do what we want to do, and that's it.
“So just because I love our players a lot doesn't mean we don't do anything to improve. I'm not that stubborn. We all want the same thing, so we use every opportunity to improve the squad on a daily basis, and when the market comes in and We can do that too, we will make sure we have the best resources and the best capabilities to compete in the way we want to.”
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