Arsenal will be “actively looking” at potential signings during the January transfer window, says manager Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners spent about £250m in the summer and brought in eight new players as they looked to increase the quality in their squad to deal with the packed fixture list and compete for trophies in multiple competitions.

Last season Arsenal‘s campaign was decimated by injuries.

They were without defender Gabriel Magalhaes for the final part of the season and played with midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker as they finished second in the Premier League for a third successive season and were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Champions League by Paris St-Germain.

This season the Gunners have also been plagued with injuries. They lost Kai Havertz from the opening day, while captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Max Dowman have had spells on the sidelines.

Now, after injuries mainly affecting attacking players, it is the Arsenal backline which is suffering.

Arteta was forced to play Declan Rice in an unfamiliar right-back position against Brighton on Saturday because Jurrien Timber was injured and Riccardo Calafiori picked up an issue in the warm-up.

Gabriel returned from injury in the 2-1 win, but the return dates of Cristhian Mosquera, Timber and Calafiori are not known.

“We’re going to be really aware of the situation and the timescale of certain players,” Arteta said.

“We have to be actively looking, and then can we do it or not?

“That’s a different story, but our job is to be always very prepared because something can happen.”