Arteta signals January transfer activity as Arsenal injury woes mount

LONDON, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has indicated the club will closely monitor the January transfer market as injury problems continue to disrupt their season.

The Gunners invested around 250 million pounds in the summer, signing eight new players in an effort to strengthen the squad and cope with a demanding schedule across multiple competitions.

Despite that outlay, injuries once again threaten to derail their campaign.

Kai Havertz was sidelined from the opening day, while captain Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Max Dowman have all missed time through injury.

While attacking absences were the main concern earlier in the season, Arsenal's defensive options are now under strain. Arteta was forced to use Declan Rice at right-back in Saturday's 2-1 win over Brighton after Jurrien Timber was ruled out and Riccardo Calafiori suffered a problem during the warm-up.

Gabriel returned to action in that match, but there is still no clarity over the recovery timelines for Cristhian Mosquera, Timber or Calafiori.

"We're going to be really aware of the situation and the timescale of certain players," Arteta said.

"We have to be actively looking, and then can we do it or not? That's a different story, but our job is to be always very prepared because something can happen," he said.

Last season, Arsenal were badly hit by fitness issues, losing key defender Gabriel Magalhaes for the run-in and being forced to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker. They eventually finished second in the Premier League for a third consecutive year and exited the Champions League at the semifinal stage against Paris St-Germain. ■