"I think the club is working for the possibility to take some players who can help us during these next four months."
Sunday 6 January 2019 13:02, UK
Unai Emery is hopeful Arsenal will bring in reinforcements during the January transfer window - but declined to say whether Denis Suarez will be one of them.
Barcelona midfielder Suarez is close to signing a deal with Arsenal, according to reports from Sky in Italy, and it is understood Emery is keen to reunite with the 24-year-old who he worked with at Sevilla.
After the 3-0 FA Cup third-round win over Blackpool, Emery said: "I think the club is working for the possibility to take some players who can help us during these next four months.
"Maybe the transfer market can help us with a centre-back, but it is not easy because also (Konstantinos) Mavropanos is coming back after injury. Also a winger, right or left, one player can help us in this position."
Emery suffered another defensive headache in the warm-up at Bloomfield Road when Laurent Koscielny felt his back tighten and was replaced in the starting line-up by Carl Jenkinson.
The Arsenal manager is optimistic it is not a big issue, though, saying: "I hope he's going to be OK for the next matches."
It was a routine outing on the pitch, with 19-year-old Joe Willock scoring his second and third senior goals in the first half, before Alex Iwobi rounded off a 3-0 victory late on.
Only four players remained in the starting line-up from the Premier League victory over Fulham, and it was the young attackers who shone, with Willock ably supported by fellow 19-year-old Eddie Nketiah and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Emery added: "We need players with commitment. We need players who are prepared for when the team needs them and they can step up.
"Opportunities are coming in matches like today. We mixed experienced players in the squad with some young players like Joe, Eddie and Ainsley.
"It was a good combination. They can show us they are progressing with the team and, mostly importantly, they showed their passion."
