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Mikel Arteta has again distanced himself from Arsenal's transfer strategy in January amid a host of injuries and an illness sweeping through the team.
The January transfer window might be open, and Arsenal is dealing with a host of injuries plus a virus sweeping through the team, but it's as you were with the Gunners' transfer plans.
Given that it seems logical, at least from the outside, that Arsenal should invest in bringing in a player or two over the coming days or weeks to help alleviate the stress put on the current squad with a host of players unavailable, it appears Arsenal isn't in too much of a hurry to get something done.
With Newcastle up next in the Carabao Cup semi-final for Mikel Arteta's team, the Gunners manager was again tight-lipped when it came to discussing if a player or two might be coming through the doors at the Emirates over the next week or so.
“That hasn’t changed - again the focus is our players,” Arteta said via arsenal.com. “Whatever is in the market, we’re very alert, but the priority is working with the players that we have at the moment and tomorrow night, which is a big night for us. It’s not a yes, it’s not a no!”
Ok, we get it, the focus is on Newcastle, but focus also has to be on beefing up a squad that is already rather thin.
As things stand, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Ethan Nwaneri, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Raheem Sterling are out, while Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard both have a question mark hanging over them due to a virus sweeping through the team.
That is a lot of first-teamers on the sidelines, which means that the fit players in the squad are having to do double duty more often than not, and if reports are to be believed, that is what contributed to Saka's hamstring injury.
Right now, it seems like the Carabao Cup might be the best chance for the Gunners to get silverware this season given how things are going in the Premier League with Liverpool showing everyone a clean set of heels so far.
The Champions League looks unlikely with the injury list Arteta is dealing with, so that leaves the domestic cup competitions, and with Arsenal at home to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup first leg, this is a golden chance to put distance between themselves and the Magpies before the second leg at St. James' Park.
But don't forget about possibly adding to the squad either, Mikel.