Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has claimed that his club will be “active” in the upcoming transfer market. European teams can make player transfers again beginning on January 1st. The Gunners will need to take a hard look at new players following some bad injury news within the club.

Star striker Gabriel Jesus suffered a fairly serious knee injury at the World Cup with Brazil. The 25-year-old center forward has been a mainstay in Arteta’s starting XI so far this season. There have been rumors that Jesus could be on the sidelines until February, but Arteta would not confirm these reports.

“I never gave a date so that’s not the words that I used, and I haven’t used any words right now,” claimed the manager during a press conference. “I said that we don’t know, it will take some time for sure. Obviously, he’s going through surgery so that’s the extent of the injury.”

Arteta says Arsenal will be active in January

Arteta did, however, commit to being active in January. “We’ll be in the market, always active,” proclaimed Arteta. “That’s what I said and we’ll assess the biggest opportunities that we have.”

“We are going to be active, and active means always looking to strengthen the team. This squad still doesn’t have the luxury of not maximizing every single window and we have to do that because it’s really important. But then we want to get the right profile, the right player and a player that is really going to impact the team and take us to the next level.”

Gunners need to add to a thin squad

Arsenal would most likely be looking to strengthen the squad anyway, but injuries to Jesus and Reiss Nelson most likely enhance these needs. The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League at the moment and could use reinforcements to help keep the momentum going.

Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk has been linked with Arsenal for months now. The 21-year-old starlet has been brilliant in the Ukrainian League and Champions League this season. In fact, he has already racked up 10 goals and eight assists between the two competitions. However, it will take a massive offer to pry the youngster away from Donetsk.

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