Mikel Arteta: Arsenal boss says club ‘actively looking’ to sign striker in January

“It is clear that in the period that we lost them, ideally we need some help. We were short already and now we are even shorter. The team still copes with that.”

However, he said he would only do “what is right for the club” and is “actively looking” to “get the right player”.

“Any player, no,” he added. “[It has to be] someone that makes us better and has an impact in the team.”

Arsenal have been linked with RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko and also Wolves forward Matheus Cunha but Arteta, who did not comment on either player in his pre-match news conference said it’s not a certainty that Arsenal will be able to complete a deal for a forward.

“It doesn’t just depend on Arsenal, on Mikel or our will. It depends on the market and a lot of different factors.” Arteta added.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said after the win over north London rivals Tottenham that he would not be “surprised” if Arsenal do try to sign a striker in this window, but Arteta said his players haven’t said to him that they feel like they need someone to come in.

“We have all been there, we all look at each other.” Arteta said.

“We have very, very short numbers for many, many weeks and they recognise the situation, we all do.”

However, the Arsenal boss did say that he does sometimes speak to his players about potential signings, especially if they have played together before, to get an insight into their characters.

“That’s getting us away from the computer and what the data is saying and it is real,” said the Spaniard.

“I have seen it, I sense it. A player can score a lot of goals, great. How does this player react when he hasn’t scored for six or seven games?

“This is what I am interested in. Watch an interview with a player who hasn’t scored for six games, and then what kind of goals does he score?

“Against which teams in which context? Is it first half or second half? Is it only with his right foot, only headers, only in open spaces? Does he like the physical contact of this league?

“There are a lot of things. So when you have a player that has spent a lot of days with him, that is really valuable information to have.”