Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are “very short” and hinted that the club must act in the January transfer window following their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners added William Saliba to their lengthy injury list ahead of the game and Arteta bemoaned their lack of depth compared to Liverpool, who beat Brentford courtesy of a double by substitute Darwin Nunez.

“They made the subs, and the subs made the impact, and they managed to change the game,” he said of Liverpool.

“And in our side, it was the opposite, even though, after conceding the two goals very close to each other, the danger was, because I knew how the team was, that we could go down because we were physically drained.”

Despite the side’s fatigue, Arteta only made one substitution against Villa, throwing on the on-loan Raheem Sterling, who struggled to make an impact. Arsenal’s bench included several untested academy players.

Asked if the circumstances underlined the need for January reinforcements, he said: “Not the result. When you look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level on the league, but when you look at the bench, probably you say, I think we are very short.”

Asked if he was worried about Saliba’s injury, he added:  “Yeah, for sure. Especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench. Very worried.”