Mikel Arteta has said he is still “trying” to bring in players to make his Arsenal squad “much better,” after Vinícius Júnior opted to stay at Real Madrid.
Following a week of intense speculation, Vinícius signed a new bumper deal at Real Madrid on Thursday. Arsenal were ready to pounce should a deal not have been agreed, but will now move onto other targets.
Asked after another preseason defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday whether fans should expect more additions, Arteta said: “Well, that’s what we’re trying to do.
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“It has to be the right player in the market to make us much better. We are very much looking forward to that.”
Bruno Guimarães, the £75 million ($101.2m) arrival from Newcastle, was presented to the Emirates Stadium crowd before the 3-2 loss, but Arsenal still appear short of quality on the left wing, where Vinicius could have made an immediate impact.
Arsenal could also be on the lookout for a defender, however, with William Saliba set to be out for an extended period of time with a back injury. Arteta’s side have conceded three goals in back-to-back friendlies.
“We conceded some poor goals today in the way we competed, especially,” Arteta said. “But that’s a very collective responsibility. So we need to improve with the players that we have. And we want to improve, for sure, we want that.
“Saliba is in rest mode at the moment for two weeks. He had to do almost nothing, an aggravated injury, so it’s going to take some time to heal. We know that. And as soon as we have more news, we can inform you.”
