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Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are “ready and open” to signing another attacking player in the January transfer window after confirming Bukayo Saka will be missing for “several weeks”.
Saka suffered a torn hamstring in Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace and now faces the longest injury absence of his career. The situation has worsened for Arsenal, with Raheem Sterling also out for “weeks” at least after injuring his knee in training.
The loss of both attackers represents a major blow to Arsenal and Arteta as they look to keep pace with league leaders Liverpool over the festive period.
“It’s not looking good,” Arteta said of Saka’s injury. “He’s going to be out for several weeks. He’s obviously an important player for us – just look at the impact he’s having on the team. It will be a very good exercise for us to think about ways to overcome another challenge, because we have done a lot of them during the season.
Regarding Saka’s reaction to the injury, Arteta added: “He was gutted. We can say that he was not injured [before] because he was really, really emotional and really depressed. And we must take it up. It’s a big part of his job. He will be fine but he will need a few days.
“He will immediately realize that he is so important in this locker room. His energy level, his body language and the way he communicates with the rest of the team must be really good because it’s the only way at the moment he can help, so he better do it well.
There are four options for Arsenal as they attempt to adjust to life without their most effective attacking player.
Strengthen the team during the transfer window
Arsenal were not expected to target a new striker in January, but their strategy may now have to change, depending on the severity of Sterling’s injury and the availability of potential targets.
Arteta insisted his top priority was to make the most of the options available in his squad, but said the club had the ability to be agile in the coming window. He suggested that before Sterling and Saka’s injuries, they were more likely to target a defensive player than an attacker.
“The preparation is complete and we are ready if something happens,” Arteta said. “Obviously we didn’t predict a situation with Bukayo and Raheem [injured] at the same time. We kind of anticipated that it would be something else, for example, if something happened in the defensive line, but the job is done.
“So, OK, if something should happen, we’ll be open. But the main focus now is how we are going to extract a lot of potential that exists in the team.
“Honestly, I’m just focusing now on the team and the resources we have to be as competitive as possible. We have many, many options to achieve this. And if something incredible is available and the club is ready to do it, we will have to think about it.
Much has been made of Arsenal’s supposed need for a new centre-forward, but there is a strong case to be made that they should be more interested in signing a top-class winger. Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have not been consistent enough on the left wing, meaning Arsenal rely on Saka too often to make things happen in attack.
It’s far from easy to sign a top player in the January window, but it’s not impossible. Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard on loan in January 2021, for example, and it proved to be the start of a special journey for the Norwegian and the club. Don’t rule out a similar move next month.
Move Jesus to the wing
Arteta said he is currently working on internal solutions to replace Saka, who has played such an important role in Arsenal’s attack in recent years. So far this season, Saka has scored nine goals and registered 13 assists in 24 club appearances.
“I’m putting some ideas together,” Arteta said. “I haven’t gotten there yet. But I have a few. Then I want to talk to them [his players] as well as understanding how we are going to generate this and take it in a positive way. Because that means we’re going to be different.
If Saka had been injured a week ago rather than this weekend, the most obvious candidate to replace him on the right might have been Gabriel Jesus. After back-to-back drubbings against Palace, in which Jesus scored five goals in four days, it is clear he is now flourishing as a central striker.
It’s entirely possible that Arteta asks Jesus to change position and play out wide, where he regularly impressed for Manchester City earlier in his career, but it would also be a shame – from a player’s point of view. Arsenal – for not allowing the Brazilian to continue playing. build momentum in a central position. Jesus flies. Moving it could clip its wings.
Switch Martinelli from left to right
Arteta’s response to the loss of Saka on Saturday was to move Martinelli from his usual left-wing spot to the right flank. It’s not an area of the pitch in which Martinelli has much experience, but he impressed there against Palace, providing pinpoint crosses and scoring from close range.
There is reason to think that Martinelli would have had more fun playing on the right flank than on the left, where he has been inconsistent in recent weeks. On Arsenal’s right, he will play alongside their best creative player, Odegaard, and full-back Jurrien Timber who creates space with his technical skills and overlapping ability.
If Martinelli played on the right, this would allow Trossard to operate from his preferred position on the left wing.
Turn to Sterling, once fit
It has been a difficult campaign for Sterling, who has barely played for Arsenal since his dramatic loan spell from Chelsea ended on deadline day.
Sterling’s chances were limited as he was effectively recruited to reinforce Saka on the right flank. Arteta obviously doesn’t see him as a serious option on the left wing, where Trossard and Martinelli compete for that role.
It was telling, for example, that Sterling started on the right wing the only time this season when Saka was unavailable for a Premier League match. It was against Bournemouth in October, and Sterling’s game lasted just 37 minutes as a red card forced Arteta to reshape his team.
In short, Sterling was signed to provide cover for Saka in case of emergency. Now the emergency has arrived and so it seems typical of his misfortune that he is also nursing an injury problem. The 30-year-old was injured in training last week, ahead of the trip to Palace, and is likely to miss out.
“He needs further tests tomorrow to understand the extent of the injury,” Arteta said on Tuesday. “It’s his knee and we have to wait another 24 hours, but unfortunately he’s going to be out for a while.”
His recovery from this problem will determine whether he benefits from an extended presence in the team during Saka’s absence.
