Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal are doing their best to sign a midfielder before the 7pm transfer deadline tonight, following Mikel Merino's serious foot injury. The Spanish midfielder, 29, is facing months on the sidelines with a broken bone in his foot which will require surgery. Merino suffered the problem in the Premier League loss to Manchester United last month.

It was claimed earlier on deadline day that the Gunners were trying to sign Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali. But the Magpies insist they have received no contact from the north London outfit. Yet Arsenal have still been scouring the market for a late potential opportunity. Arteta said when asked if Merino's injury affects their plans: "Of course. When you lose a big player in the squad, with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to do everything you possibly can to see if there is a player is available. If we don't, we keep what we have.

"At this level, especially for four months, you have to bring a player that has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team. That's not easy. If it would be, we wouldn't be here. We need to find solutions and try."

Arteta added: "We have more depth now but for seven months we haven't had the depth because we had players out, like a lot of teams. We know the demands and the standards that we need. We need players because we play every two, three days.

"We are always active in every window that we have just in case something happens. We had the departure of Ethan [Nwaneri] as well to Marseille for the right reasons I believe for the club, player and team.

"The news of Mikel was very unexpected, especially for such a long time. So we are actively looking at options, we will continue to do that."

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The Arsenal manager was asked if he will remain relaxed if the club are unable to complete an 11th-hour signing. He replied: "I wouldn't say relaxed. We are on it. It's our responsibility when we are playing for what we are playing to give ourselves the best opportunity and chance to look at the market, every option and evaluate them, and then make a decision if we do something if it's possible."

Former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is currently training with the Gunners' under-21s. The ex-England international is a free agent and Arteta smiled "we explore every option" when asked if he could be a potential addition.

Arsenal would not be limited by the 7pm deadline for the 32-year-old because he doesn't have a club at the moment, meaning he could be a surprise option to boost their depth if no other player arrives before this evening's cut-off.

The north Londoners are also in discussions about signing James Wilson, the Scottish teenage striker from Hearts. Wilson would join the club's academy on an initial loan. Tottenham are also keen on the 18-year-old.