Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hinted that his side are open to more signings in the summer transfer window following Jurrien Timber's devastating ACL injury.
The Dutchman lasted just 50 minutes on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, and scans have shown damage to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Timber will undergo surgery in the coming days, and the 22-year-old is expected to miss most of the 2023-24 campaign in an early blow to Arsenal's hopes of challenging for the Premier League title.
Timber has been one of four new signings to arrive at the Emirates in a £200m spending spree, following Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Brentford loanee David Raya to North London, and the Gunners have been expected to focus on outgoings for the remainder of the summer.
However, speaking to reporters ahead of Monday's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace, Arteta refused to rule out the prospect of strengthening his defensive ranks further in the wake of Timber's diagnosis.
"Huge blow. Especially for him after just joining the club. We recruited him with clear intentions and what he was bringing to the team was evident," Arteta told the press.
"We didn't plan with this injury, so we have to assess now what the options are and the best way to get the best out of the players that we have.
"My biggest challenge now is to get the best out of the players we have, I cannot control anything that is not here. We are always open and we have to be open to react if something happens, not only with an injury but the market as well, and that is what we are doing."
Takehiro Tomiyasu replaced Timber for the final 40 minutes of that 2-1 win over the Tricky Trees last weekend, as Oleksandr Zinchenko was deemed unfit to play due to a troublesome calf issue.
The 26-year-old did take part in the recent Game4Ukraine, but he is yet to make a competitive appearance for Arsenal this season, having also missed out on a reunion with Manchester City in the Community Shield.
However, the Ukraine international has recently been seen in team training, and Arteta is confident that he will return to action "very very soon" - a timely comeback as Timber begins months of rehabilitation.
"Alex is doing very well, he's been training with us and hopefully we're going to have him available very very soon. Gabi [Jesus] is still not available but the rest are all good," Arteta added.
Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney are also capable of filling in at left-back for Arsenal, although the latter missed out on a place in the squad last week amid persistent links with a move elsewhere.
Manchester City duo Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo have reportedly emerged as defensive targets for Arsenal, but Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr have supposedly agreed a deal to sign the former, who is also a target for Real Madrid following Eder Militao's own ACL injury.
