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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted the club will be looking for a late recruit in the transfer window after suffering injury setbacks.
The Gunners maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring the winner just 151 seconds after Douglas Luiz’s equaliser.
Arteta was forced to change his starting ranks in midfield for the second game in a row though, with Mohamed Elneny having suffered an injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Fulham.
Elneny’s setback came after Thomas Partey was ruled out of action through injury, with Arteta having to turn to Albert Sambi Lokonga for the midweek test against Villa.
With Premier League tests a plenty and the Europa League group stages crammed in before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, squads will be stretched to their limits and that may spark late activity in the transfer market.
Arsenal could now be involved in the closing stages of the window, with Arteta admitting after the game the injury to Elneny looks set to keep the Egypt international out for an extended period.
“Obviously it has an impact because Thomas is injured as well and we’re a bit short in that position,” he said in the post-match press conference.
“We have players like Sambi, we have players like Granit [Xhaka] who can play there. The club has been super supportive to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it, we will try.”
Arsenal had further injury worries during the game with captain Martin Odegaard forced off with a knock and Arteta was unsure on the severity of the problem, adding: “He got a bad kick and it’s swollen. Still unclear how bad it is,” he added.
The Gunners have been attributed with an interest in a number of midfielders heading into deadline day, with Palmieras’ Danilo and Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans among them.
