Mikel Arteta smiled and said “we explore every option” when asked if Arsenal could sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to boost their midfield depth.

The former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder is currently training with the Gunners’ under-21s.

And Arsenal have struggled to source a player to bring in before 7pm tonight to fill in for the injured Mikel Merino.

Arteta said: “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. 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.”