Arteta suggests Arsenal´s deadline-day business is done

Mikel Arteta suggested Arsenal will not make any further signings on deadline day, though he did not rule out someone following Cedric Soares through the door.

Arsenal have bolstered their defensive options with the arrival of right-back Cedric, whose contract at Southampton expires in June, on loan until the end of the season.

The move for the Portugal international – who is unlikely to debut this weekend due to “a little issue” – on Friday followed the signing of Flamengo centre-back Pablo Mari on loan with an option to buy.

Arteta hinted there could be more movement at Emirates Stadium but that it was unlikely.

“I’d say no but you never know,” the Arsenal head coach said when asked about potential incomings.

“We’ve been trying to be active in the market to resolve some of the issues we’ve been going through in the last few weeks.

“We found two players who we believe can be very useful and can improve our squad and we are happy.”

So @m8arteta, what can @OficialCedric add to our squad? #BURARS pic.twitter.com/H9ReJawUbq

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 31, 2020

Arsenal travel to Burnley on Sunday and will then head to Dubai for a training camp during the mid-season, something Arteta is looking forward to as he aims to instil his philosophy.

“We need to be ready for a battle. We have to go there with complete focus and energy and a clear plan because if not they are very hard to deal with,” said Arteta.

“Since November they haven’t had two days off, so they need to reset their minds a little bit. I wanted to take them away from here and live together more and train some concepts, as in the last few weeks we haven’t had time to prepare or train.

“We are on the right path. The next two weeks after Dubai will help us accelerate that process and I’m happy where I am.”

The Gunners will welcome back Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Luiz from suspension at Turf Moor, while Shkodran Mustafi is a doubt with an ankle injury.