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Arsenal transfer latest: Why Gunners must spend in January window as Mikel Arteta deals with injury crisis

'We are very short': Why Arteta must be backed if Gunners are to win silverware
© Imago
Mikel Arteta admits his Arsenal side is struggling to cope with the loss of key players to injury, and hints that he will need reinforcements in the January window.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted his squad are short of numbers and quality in the aftermath of his side's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The Gunners took a two-goal lead at the Emirates against Villa but a poor final 30 minutes saw them concede twice, with Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins condemning the Gunners to a second draw in three Premier League games.

Centre-back William Saliba was missing from the starting lineup, and he joined defenders Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu on the sidelines.

In the aftermath of the draw Arteta confessed that his team are struggling to cope with the number of absentees, and when asked whether the result adds pressure to make signings in the January window, he said: "Not the result. When you look at the performances, I don't know how many teams are playing at this level in the league, but when you look at the bench, probably you say, I think we are very short."

Arsenal are six points behind first-placed Liverpool despite having played a game more than the Reds, and it looks like the Gunners will have to be close to perfect from now until the end of the season if they are to win the title.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard on January 18, 2025© Iconsport

Arsenal's dire situation

The Gunners will be without forward Bukayo Saka - arguably their best player - for a number of months due to a hamstring injury, and the absence of Saliba only compounds their injury crisis further.

Attacker Gabriel Jesus is set to miss the rest of the season as a result of a cruciate ligament injury, while teenager Ethan Nwaneri is not scheduled to return until next month.

Arsenal have 16 games remaining in the Premier League, and if 90 points is seen as a benchmark for winning the title, then they will have to win 15 times and cannot afford to lose a single match.

In his post-match press conference, Arteta highlighted that Liverpool have the ability to turn to their bench in moments of need, with Darwin Nunez scoring twice as a substitute against Brentford on Saturday, saying: "They made the subs, and the subs made the impact, and they managed to change the game.

"In our side it was the opposite, even though, after conceding the two goals very close to each other, the danger was, because I knew how the team was, that we could go down here because we were physically drained. Suddenly, the team find another gear to go again and just put Aston Villa in there, in the box, and go and go again, trying to find the goal that we haven't been able to score at the end."

Arsenal were eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester United on January 12, and also face elimination from the EFL Cup semi-final given they trail Newcastle United 2-0 after their first-leg defeat on January 7, and that could mean winning the Champions League is their best route to silverware this season.

Liverpool have drawn two of their last three top-flight matches, but unless Arsenal look to strengthen in attack - and possibly defence - then winning the Premier League seems unrealistic.

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Written by
Lewis Nolan

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Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly pictured on November 2, 2024
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2Arsenal25158251222953
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest25145641291247
4Manchester CityMan City25135752351744
5Bournemouth25127644291543
6Chelsea25127647341343
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2512584233941
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9Aston Villa2510873538-338
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2591063838037
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15Manchester UnitedMan Utd2585122835-729
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18Ipswich TownIpswich2538142350-2717
19Leicester CityLeicester2545162555-3017
20Southampton2523201957-389


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