Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that the club are 'working on a few things' during the January transfer window, but he's not optimistic that much business will get done this month.
The Gunners are looking to strengthen to fight their way back up the Premier League table, with Saturday's 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace leaving Arteta's side firmly in mid table - 11 points off Champions League qualification.
The club have most notably been linked with bringing some new players to north London to improve their defence, but Arteta didn't appear to be too optimistic when discussing Arsenal's January transfer business.
"At the moment there is nothing coming up," Arteta told talkSPORT. "The club is working on a few things but you know how difficult this window is and I'm not expecting many things."
Arsenal have been linked with Jérôme Boateng as he looks for a way out of Bayern Munich, while long-term target Dayot Upamecano is still on their radar as the France Under-21 international enters the last 18 months of his contract at RB Leipzig.
Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti has also been optimistically linked with a move to Arsenal this month.
Away from their defence, Lille OSC midfielder Boubakary Soumaré has been mentioned as a target for Arsenal this month but the France Under-21 international is also a target for Manchester United and Chelsea.
Although Arsenal are being linked with a handful of big moves this month, the decision-makers in north London have never been too keen to splash big money on new signings during the middle of a season.
Aside from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's and Henrikh Mkhitaryan's arrival in 2018, Arsenal's most expensive winter transfer actually came back during their 'Invincibles' season in 2003/04 - buying the late José Antonio Reyes for £18m from Sevilla.
With big money signings looking to be off the table, Arsenal could recall William Saliba from Saint-Étienne, but even that looks unlikely as his permanent move to Emirates Stadium was only agreed after the club agreed to send the 18-year-old back to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on loan.
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Source :
90min
