Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal’s transfers to be done quickly as talks with Mihailo Mudric continue

M

ikel Arteta says Arsenal want to get their transfer business done in January but won’t sign players because of it.

Arsenal are currently five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and are ready to spend next month to boost their title challenge.

The Gunners’ priority is a new wide forward and they are in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over a deal for Mykhailo Mudrik. Arsenal also have a long-term desire to sign a new midfielder and a left centre-back.

Arteta wants Arsenal to get their work done early, especially as they face Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham in January.

“We knew the importance of signing players at the start of the summer and that’s the same thing we want to do in January,” Arteta said.

“It’s idealistic. Sometimes it’s not realistic. But obviously, if you ask my opinion, as quickly as possible we want the players to settle.

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“In this league with the competition, where the bar is and what the standards have been for the last four or five years – something the Premier League hasn’t experienced in the past – we know every point is going to be hugely important.”

Arsenal may want to get their business done early, but Arteta has stressed that they will not be signing players for the sake of it.

“Can we afford not to get the player we want? That’s my question. We can afford to take a striker for sure if we want him, I don’t know if he plays in Second League, in League 5, in Spain, in Portugal, in Africa,” Arteta said.

“We can get a striker, I can guarantee you that. But what we cannot afford is to take a player here who is not for us. That’s what we can’t afford, that’s for sure.

“We don’t need a body, we need players who make the team better. I think that individuals who have the mentality that we want to win.

“And we have to focus on that. We have to be very strict about what we have done and the policy we have to make the team successful.

“We are very consistent with the players we are looking for. Whether they are possible or available, the timing of that depends on so many things that are out of my control. The theory goes that this is a very difficult window.