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Arsenal didn't sign a single new player in the January transfer window, and apparently, there are a host of reasons why.
Everyone on the planet knew that Arsenal needed some reinforcements in January to help deal with the crippling injury list and small squad size.
Yet not a soul came through the door.
Now the Gunners and Mikel Arteta have to make do with what is available, and Ben White is reportedly edging closer to a return, while Bukayo Saka is still out until March. Gabriel Jesus is out for the year with an ACL injury, leaving Kai Havertz as the lone frontman, putting a lot of pressure on the German to stay fit.
But the fixture schedule is now easing a touch. Arsenal has 10 days between the Newcastle clash in the Carabao Cup and Leicester City in the Premier League before a seven-day break ahead of West Ham at the Emirates on Feb. 23.
Still, many think that Arsenal is once again playing with fire by not adding to what is already a thin squad, but Arteta says multiple factors played a role in the club not bringing in any new faces.
"I wouldn’t like to go into too much detail," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "We couldn’t do it for certain reasons and we have to accept it, that’s it. It was a combination of things."
Given the size of Arsenal's squad, all it will take is an injury to a certain player and the Gunners' title chances could take a massive hit. Plus, the club is banking on players staying fit and healthy, something that up until now, this season hasn't been known for.
That has led a lot of fans and respected journalists like Charles Watts calling it a "massive gamble" not to add to the squad, but for Arteta, it isn't a gamble, it's reality.
It’s not a gamble, it’s reality," Arteta added. "We have to face the reality of what we have. We have the players that we have, some of them are on loan, we have never had a squad of 35, 40, 45 players. So many other clubs have 45 players on their list, we don’t have that size at the moment. That’s our reality."
We know that Arteta doesn't want to bring players in just for the sake of it; they must improve the team, and it is clear that he and the club felt there wasn't anyone worth bringing in at this stage of the season who would have helped significantly.
Plus, a big outlay now could hamper Arsenal from big deals in the summer, but right now, the squad is thin, and we are hoping against hope that the injury bug is well and truly in the rearview mirror.