Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal's January transfer plan after Bukayo Saka injury | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed he will continue to try and fill the gaps in his senior squad by promoting talents from the academy, rather than look to the transfer market.

With star forward Bukayo Saka facing up to three months on the sidelines after hamstring surgery, Arteta has drafted in 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, a natural midfielder, to help cover out wide. 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, another natural midfielder, has been dazzling at left-back in recent weeks.

Asked whether he will persist with his current options or turn to the transfer market, Arteta insisted he will always try to work with his squad before trying to recruit new players.

"The focus is on the players that we have," the Spanish boss said. "If something extraordinary is in the market that we can afford and we believe is going to have a real impact on the team, we always have to be open for that possibility, because that is why we have the ability to change the squad, improve the squad in the windows. At the moment, the focus is on what we have."

Arteta continued: "The first thing that we want to do is look at the academy. Can we get what we want from the academy? That's option number one.

"If we don't have it there, then we have to look elsewhere, or we have to develop our players to different positions, or maybe we have to go into the market and recruit. [Nwaneri and Myles-Skelly] are playing because they deserve to play, not because of injury. We had options to play other players and they are playing because they deserve to play."

Nwaneri has helped replace Saka / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

On Nwaneri, who impressed on his full Premier League debut against Brentford in midweek, Arteta hailed the teenager's versatility to help out in a position in which he has very little experience.

"He's a player who can play in various positions," Arteta said. "It's not a position he's played a lot, to be fair, even when he was in the academy, but he can adapt for the demands that we have in two or three positions."

Gabriel Martinelli has also switched over from the left wing to Arsenal's right to help fill the void left behind by Saka, and Arteta confessed there will be times when the Brazilian will be better-suited for a game than Nwaneri.

"I said it on day one when Bukayo got injured, I think it was always going to be [assessing] a lot of different options," he continued. "With the amount of games we have, there is no one player who can play nine games in a row in that position. It's impossible.

"We will look at that and look at the opposition as well, the way they defend, the way they occupy spaces, whether they are natural-footed or inverted-footed. We need more threat, more players fit, more rotation in that unit. In relation to that, we will make decisions, and as well players' performances. It's that simple."