'The club has done a phenomenal job': Arteta defends Arsenal board after failing to sign new midfielder

When asked if he is disappointed with the Arsenal board for failing to sign him a new midfielder before the end of the summer transfer window, Mikel Arteta said: “No, we had a lot of things still to do in the squad, you see the amount of departures, compared to the number we have recruited.

“The club has done a phenomenal job, and put everything on the table to try to bring in the players and the profile that we wanted.

“We did business pretty early, but unfortunately in the past 72 hours Thomas [Partey] got injured in the same place as last time, and then Mo [Elneny] has a long-term injury.

“Then we had to react in the market and we tried, but at the end of the day we have to bring in the player that we feel is right for the team and for the club and we didn’t manage to do that.”

Arteta seemingly confirms that Arsenal pushed hard to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa on deadline day, but failed to get a deal done. The Gunners are now facing a crisis in options in midfield ahead of the crucial trip to Old Trafford to face Man United.

Source: Arsenal.com