Mikel Arteta Leandro Trossard Edu Arsenal 2022-23

Getty Images

'A tricky one' - Arteta delivers verdict on Arsenal's January transfer window

Mikel Arteta has described Arsenal’s transfer window as a ‘tricky one’, but is adamant his squad is in a better place now than when it started.

Arsenal spent around £60m on their three January signings
Lokonga, Cedric and Marquinhos all went out on loan
Jorginho could make his debut at Everton on Saturday

WHAT HAPPENED? The Gunners brought in three new arrivals during January, with Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior all joining to strengthen the squad ahead of the second half of the season.

But the Premier League leaders missed out on their top two targets, with Mykhailo Mudryk eventually joining Chelsea and Moises Caicedo remaining at Brighton.

WHAT THEY SAID: When asked to sum up the window, Arteta said: “Really tricky one, but I think at the end it’s a really positive one. I think we had three main key positions that we wanted to improve and we’ve done it.

Article continues below

“What you plan and actually what you can do in this industry normally it doesn’t happen. So you have to adapt. The most important thing was the profile and the qualities that we bring to the squad makes us better and I have no doubt that we’ve done that.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Speaking about his three new additions, Arteta added: “With Leo we bring in a player that already knows the league, that has been performing at a great level and has the versatility that we needed. Jakub is a young talent with incredible potential that is going to adapt really well to our way of playing and then with Jorginho, a player that speaks for himself. I think we made some really good decisions there.”