Key Takeaways:
- Mikel Arteta stated Arsenal will be “actively looking” for potential January signings
- The Gunners spent about £250m and brought in eight new players during the summer window
- Arsenal have faced persistent injury problems, particularly affecting both attacking and defensive options
Transfer Strategy in Response to Injuries
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the club intends to actively assess opportunities for new signings when the January transfer window opens. Following an eventful summer that saw the Gunners invest approximately £250 million to strengthen their squad with eight new arrivals, Arsenal are contemplating further reinforcements to cope with an unrelenting fixture list and ambitions on multiple fronts.
🎙Mikel Arteta on if the squad is full already……
🗣 “Depending, as I said, on the availability of certain players.
“So the window is there. I mean, we are Arsenal and we have to be looking at it. OK, what do we need? And we have to be actively looking. Can we do it or not?… pic.twitter.com/abUNr98pTS— Arsenal Radar (@ArsenalRadar) December 29, 2025
Impact of Injuries on Arsenal’s Campaigns
Injuries have repeatedly disrupted Arsenal’s plans. During the previous campaign, the team was without defender Gabriel Magalhaes for the closing stages and was compelled to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino in a makeshift striker role. These challenges contributed to a second-place Premier League finish for the third consecutive season, and an exit in the Champions League semi-finals at the hands of Paris St-Germain.
The current season has continued this unfortunate trend. Kai Havertz was sidelined from the very first match, while Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, and Max Dowman have all missed periods due to injury. Recent matches have seen the defensive unit particularly affected. During Saturday’s clash against Brighton, Arteta was forced to play Declan Rice at right-back because Jurrien Timber was unavailable and Riccardo Calafiori sustained an issue during the warm-up. Gabriel made his return to action for the 2-1 victory, however, there remains uncertainty regarding the return dates for Cristhian Mosquera, Timber, and Calafiori.
Arteta’s Approach and Recruitment Preparedness
Arteta emphasised his commitment to planning and readiness throughout this period of uncertainty: “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.”
