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Arsenal saw Ethan Nwaneri be substituted at half time in the 1-1 draw with Brighton with a muscular issue.
Someone might be working overtime on that Arsenal voodoo doll as youngster Ethan Nwaneri became the latest name added to a growing injury list after he was taken off at halftime in the 1-1 draw to Brighton.
The teenager opened the scoring after being sent through by Mikel Merino, but he wouldn't be able to build on his good work as he was taken off at halftime.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta the BBC post-game that it is "really bad news" when talking on Nwaneri's injury, and when we add in the illness bug that has seen Kai Havertz miss the last two games and Martin Odegaard be a substitute for the Brighton game, a squad that was already thin, is getting worse.
With the January transfer window now open, will Nwaneri's injury, plus the illness sweeping through the squad, force Arsenal to dip into the transfer market to get some reinforcements?
"Obviously we cannot make a decision based on one performance on one day where there are a lot of circumstances - not only the players that were lost, but the sub to take Ethan out, the one with Martin is introduced for very limited time," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "Hopefully on Tuesday we will be in a better position, let’s see."
There are only so many hits a team can take before things fall apart and considering that the Gunners are five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who now have two games in hand, the title is almost out of reach already.
With just over half of the season played, that isn't acceptable, and something must be done to help alleviate the stress currently on the squad. Going by Arteta's comments, Odegaard wouldn't have played had there been enough fit players, which shows the predicament Arsenal is currently in.
Of course, any player who is signed in January will come with an inflated price tag. Is that something the Gunners want to do for a player who will most likely be a fill-in and not a bonafide starter?
It's getting to desperation mode now, and with Arsenal still in multiple competitions, all it takes is one bad week, and the Gunners could be exiting all of them en route to another trophyless season.
Reinforcements might have to be signed.