It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday.

It was the Gunners’ third victory since October and saw them snap a run of five matches without a win in all competitions.

It also marked Mikel Arteta’s first triumph since replacing Freddie Ljungberg on the touchline, and hopefully a turning point in what’s been a disastrous season for the north London club.

While there were signs of clear improvement under the new boss, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant at Manchester City should be under no illusion of the scale of the task at hand.

Arsenal are currently tenth in the Premier League and in the midst of an injury crisis that has been particularly damaging to their defensive options.

Calum Chambers is out for up to nine months with a knee injury, while Kieran Tierney is likely to be sidelined until March as he recovers from surgery on his dislocated shoulder.

Hector Bellerin - who has made only six appearances for Arsenal this season - is also thought to be struggling with a hamstring problem.

With so many injury concerns at play, it’s little wonder Arteta has hinted at venturing into the January transfer market in addition to working with his existing squad.

“The reality is we will not be able to do much,” the Spaniard said, per the Mirror.

“I’m more concerned about getting players back from injury and try to improve the players I have here, get everybody on board and understanding what we’re trying to do.

“And if something extra comes up and we think it is the right opportunity to improve what we have, then let’s do it.”

Arsenal were thought to be keen on resuming their summer pursuit of RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano this month, though a far cheaper alternative appears to be in the offing.

According to Sky Germany, the Gunners are exploring the option of signing Jerome Boateng from Bayern Munich, who could be available for as little as £12.8 million.

The 31-year-old World Cup winner is ready to leave the Bundesliga giants in search of regular football having made just 15 appearances so far this season.

Boateng’s once-untouchable status at the Allianz Arena has come under threat from Benjamin Pavard and David Alaba, with the latter being used more as a central defender than a left-back this term.

Despite Bayern dealing with reduced defensive options themselves, selling Boateng while he can still fetch a reasonable fee is well and truly on the table.

Such an opportunity should be of interest to Arteta, as he could do with having a leader of Boateng's quality to help bring stability to what is a fragile Arsenal side.