Gunners still hoping for new arrivals on eve of transfer deadline
Following Monday's 1-0 away win over Aston Villa, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta publicly stated that the club will not give up the possibility of signing new players until the last moment before the transfer window closes.
Bukayo Saka struck the decisive goal in the 59th minute to help the Gunners take all three points from Villa Park, making Arsenal one of only four teams to open the new Premier League season with two consecutive victories.
According to internal sources, Arsenal are planning a late-window addition to their forward line, with Atletico Madrid striker Julián Álvarez identified as the primary target for the centre-forward role. Meanwhile, the Gunners have also been handed an opportunity to sign Lyon's Malick Fofana, and several other candidates remain under evaluation.
When asked whether there was hope of injecting fresh blood into the front line, Arteta responded: "We are doing everything we can to strengthen the squad and we will keep working towards that goal until tomorrow night."
"For the past 24 hours I deliberately cut myself off from the outside world, because I felt my energy and attention had to be completely focused on the match. Now, I will get back to the transfer work."
Arteta also mentioned that the bitter memory of a 2-1 defeat on the same ground last season served as an important motivation for the team's strong fighting spirit in this match.
"That defeat still weighs on me, and I have spoken to the players about it," said Arteta. "The players were slumped to the ground, looking dejected, and that image was really hard to accept."
"It was exactly that experience we used to ignite our energy, add more belief on the pitch, and make everyone more aware of the enormity of the task ahead—especially facing a side with such an excellent record last season and one that had just suffered a 0-4 thrashing by Brighton a few days ago."
"You know they will respond. Besides, this is a notoriously difficult away ground, and in important games they will seize their key chances. Today we had to withstand the pressure, and we did, while also taking absolute control of the match—that we also achieved, so I am very satisfied with the result."