Kieran Tierney talks opened as Mikel Arteta gives update | All Football

Arsenal need a strong January to stay in the title race, and that goes for what they do off the pitch as well as on it.

The Gunners are second in the Premier League after 19 games, six points behind leaders Liverpool. Arne Slot’s team have played one less game, though, and remain in the best position to finish the campaign as champions.

Mikel Arteta added a number of players to Arsenal’s ranks over the summer, with Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori among those to join for a substantial fee. WITH Bukayo Saka and Ben White among the injured, though, more reinforcements may be needed.

There may also be more exits, with Arteta preparing to streamline his squad for the second half of the campaign. This is it Mirror Footballlatest lines around North London.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has played down suggestions that a major spending spree could be on the cards. However, after making a late move for Raheem Sterling at the end of the summer window, he has not ruled out doing any business.

“I don’t know. The focus is on the players we have,” he said on Friday. “If there is someone in the market that we can afford and we believe they will have a real impact on the team then we must always be open to that possibility.

“At the moment, the focus is on what we have. That market is much more limited than the one in the summer.”

Celtic have begun negotiations with Kieran Tierney over a possible pre-contract agreement, according to BBC Sport. The Scottish left-back left the Glasgow club for Arsenal back in 2019, but seems unlikely to stay at the Emirates Stadium beyond this season.

Tierney had been close to a summer exit after spending last season on loan at Real Sociedad. However, an injury sustained on international duty at Euro 2024 put paid to that.

The defender made his first Arsenal appearance in more than 500 days when he played against Crystal Palace in this season’s Carabao Cup. This may not be the start of a redemption arc, however, and the Gunners’ first summer exit could come to an end sooner rather than later.

Thomas Partey and Jorginho are in the final months of their contracts and are free to talk to potential husbands abroad. Both could still extend their stay in North London, but the Arsenal manager was non-committal about the pair.

“It is a close communication with them, what is their idea, what they want to do, and what are their intentions,” Arteta told reporters. He said it was possible to leave before an agreement, but he had no doubts about his team’s commitment to the cause.

“All the players here, they want to focus on performing and affecting the team and if something happens then we will assess it,” added Arteta.