Arsenal have signed Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares so far this summer but Mikel Arteta says they "still have things to do"; Spaniard says Joe Willock has "options" after Newcastle had £25m offer accepted; watch Brentford vs Arsenal on Friday, live on Sky Sports from 7pm
Thursday 12 August 2021 12:19, UK
Mikel Arteta says he wants more additions to his Arsenal squad before the transfer window closes at the end of the month and says "anything is possible" as Deadline Day approaches.
Premier League sides have less than three weeks remaining to strengthen their squads with the window shutting on August 31.
Arsenal have so far signed Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares this summer, but moves for a new goalkeeper, midfielder and forward are still on hold.
The Gunners are keen on England internationals Aaron Ramsdale, Tammy Abraham and James Maddison and also hold an interest in bringing Martin Odegaard back to the club.
Arteta believes Arsenal could be active in the market until Deadline Day, saying: "Anything is possible and there are still a lot of things to be done and a lot of clubs involved.
"You can see that the ball starts to roll at a different speed in the last week or so. It's been a really difficult transfer window and probably a lot of things will happen in the last week or so.
"It's how deals develop and sometimes something that is not possible to do on the 12th of August is possible to do on the last day. Whether you are happy bringing the player in or not I think is more important."
Arsenal have spent over £70m on their three signings this summer but Arteta admits they cannot match the spending prowess of rivals such as Manchester City and Chelsea.
"We have owners that are willing to invest in the team and they want to get the team better and with bigger aims," he said.
"We are trying to find a balance because at the same time we need to be really careful. We need a financial position that is sustainable and healthy for the club.
"It's been really busy. We are talking about the most difficult transfer market in this industry over the last years for sure, and we are trying to adapt.
"The club, the owners and myself, we all have the same interest, which is to make this team much stronger. We know we still have things to do to get what we want."
Arsenal's buying power could be strengthened by the sale of Joe Willock, with Newcastle having had a bid of £25m accepted by the Gunners.
Willock scored eight goals in 14 games during a loan spell at St James' Park last season, but his return is being held up by a failure to agree personal terms.
Arteta said "I don't know" when asked if Willock would remain an Arsenal player, adding: "The situation is that he is our player.
"We've held some conversations because this is about not only what we want to do, but the player's interests, the role that a player can fit within a squad.
"What he's done has put him in a really strong position where he can choose with more options what his future could look like. This is what we are trying to define right now."
On Friday, Arteta's focus will shift from the transfer market to events on the pitch as Arsenal travel to Brentford in the Premier League curtain-raiser, live on Sky Sports.
The Gunners will be hoping for an improvement on their league form this season after successive eight-place finishes, but Arteta believes focusing on his side's performances instead of targeting a specific league position is the way forward.
"Our goal is to get consistency - that is going to bring us closer to winning football matches. That's what I want from the team and if we do that consistently in every single match, we're going to be in a good place.
"But that's something that we haven't done - consistently give the best version. That's something that we must do and the results will be the consequence of that."
You can follow all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms, as well as keeping track of all the developments on Sky Sports News.
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