Mikel Arteta refused to rule out the possibility of signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a short-term contract following confirmation of Mikel Merino’s injury.
The Spain international is set to undergo surgery on a damaged foot and will miss the majority of a run-in during which the Gunners will hope to end their long wait for major silverware.
With Ethan Nwaneri unable to be recalled from his loan spell at Marseille, Arsenal have only Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard remaining as recognised central midfield options.
Merino’s setback led to a deadline day scramble to find suitable options to cover for the former Real Sociedad star but that search bore no fruit with the only arrivals on Monday coming in the shape of teenagers Evan Mooney and Jaden Dixon.
An initial inquiry for Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali was immediately dismissed but Arsenal could look to revisit their interest in the Italy international come the summer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, has been training back at Arsenal over the course of the last month having been without a club since leaving Besiktas in August.
‘We explore every option,’ said Arteta when asked whether his former teammate could represent a solution to his squad’s lack of midfield option.
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Arsenal are back in action this evening looking to protect their slender advantage over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg and Arteta has launched a passionate defence of his side’s style of play by revealing he has a ‘massive book of people’ who feel his side are the ‘most exciting in Europe’.
In some quarters, Arsenal have attracted criticism for their perceived reliance on goals from corners and set-pieces. Fourteen of their 46 goals in the league this season have arrived from corners.
But when put to Arteta that some critics have taken aim at his brand of football, the Spaniard replied: ‘I hear completely the opposite, all around Europe that we are the most exciting team in Europe.
‘The most goals, the most clean sheets, the most this. Maybe I have different resources?
‘I don’t know which people (have said that). You send me the names, the addresses, and the emails and maybe we can talk, but I can give you a massive book of all the people (who don’t think that).’
The 2020 FA Cup remains the sole silverware of Arteta’s six-year reign, but it would appear unimaginable at this stage that his side would end another season empty-handed.
The Carabao Cup may be significant with a possible meeting in the showpiece on March 15 against Arsenal’s title rivals Manchester City.
And Arteta knows winning the competition could prove a catalyst in his side’s trophy ambitions.
He added: ‘You work to win many trophies, and the enjoyment that that brings; the confidence, the trust, the belief, and unlock something in you, and then you want more.
‘And it’s a cycle that you want to repeat constantly, and we still have to do that, and some of them, they’ve never done it, so it’s always a first time.
‘But the group is really convinced that we have the ability to do it. We’re also very conscious that that’s nothing, and we have to work every single day, and that’s all we focus on.
‘I expect the crowd (tomorrow) to be like it’s been all season, and the last few seasons, which is with us. We have had some incredible moments together, and tomorrow we have to push all the energy and optimism that we can, and in a few weeks be at Wembley together.’
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