Arsenal supporters are taking to Twitter to herald a transfer revelation by manager Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal trainer confirmed to a press conference on Friday afternoon that the Gunners plan to sign a midfielder.
Speaking via The Guardian, the Spaniard confirmed: “We are going to move and we are going to look for options because we are very short there.”
This is music to the ears of supporters of the Emirates Stadium outfit because, honestly, they need midfielders.
Granit Xhaka has been absent from training at London Colney all week; Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey are at the Africa Cup of Nations and look set to miss a chunk of January; and Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to join Italian side Roma.
Even with someone like Elneny, he is very much a squad player in North London and therefore Arsenal need additional strength in midfield regardless.
Rarely is Arteta so transparent on transfer-related matters and the fact he has confirmed the plan is a relatively solid indication that someone will be signed.
Here is how Arsenal supporters reacted to their manager’s confirmation on Friday afternoon:
Bolster
Other fans were asking why Maitland-Niles has been granted permission to leave if, as Arteta claims, the Gunners are ‘short’ on midfield options.
But truthfully, the 24-year-old, like Elneny, wasn’t a massive part of the Spanish manager’s plans at Arsenal regardless.
Their only available, senior midfielder for Sunday’s FA Cup visit to Nottingham Forest looks like being Albert Sambi Lokonga and that, above anything, is the reason why the North Londoners are bolstering that position.
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