Arsenal have been warned against any panic buying as their striker search moves into the final weeks of the January window.

Arsenal are now stepping up their efforts to land a striker, with Mikel Arteta left short of options at the top end of the pitch. The Gunners have lost Bukayo Saka for a couple of months and Gabriel Jesus for the season.

The latter had just hit a purple patch, but he tore his ACL last weekend and will not return until next season. Even with injury challenges, the Gunners have moved to within four points of leaders Liverpool, albeit they have played a game more.

But having relied heavily on set-pieces, it was already clear that Arsenal needed another striker, and that is doubly the case now that Jesus has been ruled out for the season. Arteta has now been open about the fact he and his staff are searching for options, saying on Friday: “At the moment we don't have them, we are actively trying to find the best possible solution but we will have to wait and see what we can do.”

On the back of that, transfer ‘insider’ Fabrizio Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Arsenal are working on the striker position. Mikel Arteta already confirmed that Arsenal are working for a new addition. And I can tell you that also in the last 24-48 hours, there were many calls from Arsenal to ask about situations of important players around Europe. So Arsenal are exploring opportunities for the striker position, let's see what they will be able to do. But for sure, Arsenal are looking at that. So work in progress.”

Parlour on Arsenal predicament

Arsenal do not seem likely to spend big money to land a striker this month even if their Premier League title fate likely rests on how successful they are in the January window. Speaking to SportsMole, former Arsenal favourite Ray Parlour said: "I don't think they're going to bring anyone in the transfer window, because it's really difficult to get the right players, and you just don't want to go out and spend money for sake of it. But certainly in the summer, they've got really put all their attentions on attacking players.

"It's a lot easier to sign players in the summer than it is probably in January, but this is where they get paid lots of money, all these directors of football. And they'll be scouring the world probably saying, who's available? It's desperate, really. Desperate times for another attacker because they've got lots of injuries. I know they can play a false number nine, but if you had Henry in this side, you'd have a chance, definitely a good chance of winning the league last year and maybe this year."

He added: "Who's out there? I don't know. I really can't tell who's out there. You've got to really be looking at players who've probably got a year left on their contracts or a year and a half and try and force their arm, force the club to maybe think about selling them. That's where the scouting network's got to be very important. They've got to know every single player around Europe who's available, who they can get, and if they're going to be good enough and can improve the team. That's the big question as well.

"Because you can bring another body in, but if it doesn't make an impact or it's not better than what you've got, what is the point? You've got to make sure. And that's why it's a difficult window generally, because a lot of the best players are probably not available until the summer, where they can look at it and go from there.

"But the Premier League can't stand still, you've got to keep pushing and trying to bring a couple of players in to liven the dressing room up. And that's why Mikel Arteta and his team behind the scenes have got to work really hard to try and see who's available. Because before you know it, it'll be February, the window's closed, and you've just got to go with the players you've got."