As he approaches the final international break of 2023, Mikel Arteta will be happy with what his side have done so far. Arsenal sit third in the Premier League, just one point off leaders Manchester City and have all but qualified from their Champions League group.

It's undoubtedly an impressive start from a Gunners side that are yet to hit top gear. When you consider the number of injuries they've picked up across the course of the opening three months of the campaign and the start looks even better.

Gabriel Jesus, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Cedric, Emile Smith Rowe, Ben White, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey have all missed matches due to various different ailments over the course of the season so far. Arteta has coped well for the most part, but there are concerns about the strength in depth of parts of the squad.

This is particularly the case in midfield. Thomas Partey has played just 15 minutes since August and last week had a procedure on a thigh injury that is expected to keep him out for the remainder of 2023. He is then likely to join up with the Ghana squad for the African Cup of Nations which could see him miss a further month of football. Mohamed Elneny is also likely to be away in the Ivory Coast for the tournament which would leave Jorginho and Declan Rice as Arsenal's only defensive midfield options.

This is an area of the pitch where the Gunners are already considering their options. Partey will have just 12 months left on his contract in the summer, and Arsenal open to offers for the Ghanaian. Jorginho and Elneny meanwhile will see their deals expire at the end of the season. There is the option to extend the former's deal by 12 months, but Arsenal are exploring the market for the future of the base of their midfield.

football.london understands that one of the players they are looking at is Martin Zubimendi. The Spanish international has been of interest for a while now and has a €60million release clause in his contract. However, it is thought that he is happy at Real Sociedad and not looking to move in January as things stand.

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Douglas Luiz has also been heavily linked. Arsenal tried to buy the Brazilian last summer for a fee of around £25million. However, he has since signed a contract extension at Aston Villa and would reportedly cost around £60million. Given that Arsenal spent more than £200million on incoming transfers over the summer and didn't raise as much through sales as hoped, it would be difficult for the Gunners to match that price tag.

A potentially cheaper alternative could be to recall one of their loan players. football.london understands however, that there is no recall clause in Albert Sambi Lokonga's season-long move to Luton.

Externally Arteta has claimed that he is happy to work with what he's got. "We can talk about the depth, but after you have to talk about the specific positions or certain units where we are a little bit shorter," he told football.london in a press conference last week. "But it is the challenge of the season and other people have to step up, and that as well is a good test for the team - how we take those moments and how we actually respond to that. So far, the team is doing well." Having seen his Premier League title push hampered by depth issues last season though, the Spaniard will be wary of being stung by the same issue again.