Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal could sign new midfielder

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has acknowledged that the club could pursue a new midfielder during the ongoing transfer window.

The Gunners are without Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny this month due to AFCON while they have loaned out Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Roma.

This leaves Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka as the specialist senior midfielders, but the latter is currently unavailable for selection.

Xhaka has missed the last few days of training. Arteta has now accepted that the club are likely to look for midfield options in the coming days.

He told football.london: "We are very, very short at the moment. We are going to move and look for options because we are very short there."

The Gunners are scheduled to face Nottingham Forest away from home in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening.

Lokonga could be partnered by club graduate Charlie Patino, who made his debut off the bench in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last month.