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Arsenal’s gap at the top of the table has shrunk to just four points as Manchester City, boosted by a major winter spend for the second season running, have added Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi to their ranks. Semenyo has already scored three times since arriving at the start of the month.

From a Gunners perspective, however, nothing beyond some minor potential recruitment at the youth level is expected at this stage of football.london understands. Barring a major turnaround in the final four-plus days of the January transfer window, the squad Arteta has in front of him is what will finish the season.

That said, at the start of January, a loan exit for Ethan Nwaneri was considered unlikely, and now, after just 13 minutes, he found the net for his new club, Marseille. It showcases just how unpredictable the market can be and how what is understood weeks, or sometimes even days or hours earlier, can suddenly change.

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And Arteta did offer up the idea that the club would be "active" during the window. What that looks like weeks later, however, is more awareness than action.

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"The window is there and I mean we are Arsenal and we have to be looking at it: 'Okay, what do we need?' Arteta said at the end of December. "And we have to be actively looking and then, whether we can do it or not, that's a different story," he said.

"But our job is to always be very prepared because something can happen, so hopefully it'll be very positive."

On the youth recruitment front, Arsenal are still interested in Blackburn’s Igor Tyjon, but the 17-year-old striker looks unlikely to sign a new deal with the northern club before his contract expires in the summer. However, a winter move could yet materialise, but the North London club are far from the only side keen, with Manchester United also in the fold amongst others.

With Per Mertesacker due to leave as head of the academy in the summer, and no firm decision on his successor at this stage, this could yet have an impact on how the club decides to move this winter. When Edu departed before the January window in 2025, and Andrea Berta was not yet in place until March, the club didn’t make any moves at a senior level despite a keenness to add a striker – a similar scenario, therefore, could be unfolding at the youth level.

Maurizio Micheli has been an addition to the club in a senior scouting position, joining as a key member of Berta’s team. Yet the bulk of Arsenal’s transfer discussions are understood to be focused on the summer business with a central midfielder, forward and defender believed to be key areas of the club’s strategy.