Injury-hit Arsenal open to January signings, Arteta says

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his Premier League leaders would be “actively looking” to strengthen their squad during the January transfer window as injuries continue to stretch his resources.

The Gunners could be without up to four defenders for Tuesday’s home league match against high-flying Aston Villa, with Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera all absent from Saturday’s narrow win over Brighton.

That victory kept Arsenal two points clear of champions Manchester City at the top of the table.

Despite spending more than £250 million on eight new players in the summer, Arteta said further reinforcements remain a possibility as the club chase their first league title since 2004.

“The window is there and we are Arsenal, so we have to be looking at it,” Arteta said. “We have to be actively looking and then whether we can do it or not is a different story.

“Our job is to be prepared because things can happen, so hopefully it will be very positive.”

Arteta pointed to the physical demands of the season and the size of rival squads.

“When you look across the other clubs, they have 24 or 25 squad players,” he said. “We have had more injuries than expected, some of them not avoidable, and we want to be better.”

Villa, managed by former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, ended Arsenal’s 11-match unbeaten league run with a stoppage-time 2-1 win on Dec. 6 and arrive in north London on the back of a club-record 11 consecutive victories in all competitions.

Another Villa win would see them draw level on points with Arsenal.

Asked if Emery’s side were title contenders, Arteta said their form deserved respect.

“They fully deserve that credit because they are doing it on the pitch,” he said. “But every opponent that comes here, we want them to suffer.

“It was quite cruel the way we lost the last game, but we have learned from it and we can use that as motivation.”