Arteta responds to call for Arsenal to make attacking signings

Mikel Arteta has admitted it’s not in his hands to sign a forward in the January transfer window, despite Arsenal’s obvious need for attacking additions.

Arsenal’s attacking crisis only got worse on Sunday night, with Gabriel Jesus seemingly suffering a serious knee injury against Manchester United.

Jesus looks set to join Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri on the sidelines, with Saka not expected to be back before March and Nwaneri returning at the very end of this month if all goes well.

The Gunners were already low on top attacking options, but the squad is even thinner now. Add to that Kai Havertz’s worst week of finishing since he joined the club and things are looking pretty bleak right now.

Reporters asked Mikel Arteta about attacking reinforcements in his post-match press conference, with the January transfer window currently open.

“We miss (chances) from various ways, from different players,” Arteta responded. “And I understand guys that, but I cannot love our players more. And I focus very much on the ones that we have to perform at the highest level. That’s it.

“The rest is not in our hands, in my hands.”

It’s pretty clear that Arteta would like a new forward or two to help out, with the reliable David Ornstein recently confirming that the manager wants Nico Williams this month. But Ornstein added that a January move was unlikely, and it doesn’t seem as if the club are close to signing a striker either.

As Arteta says, it’s not in his hands. It’s up to the Arsenal board and ownership to sanction spending, or to force the manager to stick with what he has for the next five months.