Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out the possibility of Runar Alex Runarsson staying at Arsenal for the remainder of the season.
The Icelandic goalkeeper was brought in over the summer to replace Emi Martinez, but has done little to inspire confidence with a string of shaky performances in the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
He has been linked with a loan move away from the Emirates just four months after his arrival, following last week's signing of Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton for the rest of the 2020/21 campaign.
But now Mikel Arteta has hinted the 25-year-old stopper could end up staying beyond this window.
"Every squad needs three goalkeepers," he said.
"They have to compete with each other, they have to challenge each other, and everybody will get his role.
"And after you get the role you have to just support each other again, to get the best out of all of them. This is a role. Come here and try to make us better."
It now seems as though Runarsson is set to stay and be third choice goalkeeper for the Gunners.
It had been thought the 25-year-old's departure could open the door for under-23 goalkeepers Karl Hein and Arthur Okonkwo to stake their claim for the third choice goalkeeping spot following the departure of Matt Macey earlier this month, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Runarsson staying could potentially impact the Gunners' move for Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard.
The 22-year-old has reportedly arrived in London and is expected to complete his loan move from Real Madrid very soon.
However, his arrival would mean that Arsenal once again have a surplus of foreign players within their squad.
Premier League rules dictate that clubs are only allowed a maximum of 18 non-homegrown players in their 25-man list. It was because of this that Mikel Arteta was forced to leave Mesut Ozil and Sokratis out of his squad entirely back in October.
After the departures of those two and Sead Kolasinac this window though, Arsenal were down to 17 foreign players leaving them with one spot to spare.
This has now gone to Australian 'keeper Mat Ryan, meaning the Gunners are back up to the full quota.
William Saliba's loan move to Nice does not free up a spot in the squad as he is under the age of 21.
Runarsson's departure was expected to pave the way for a spare overseas place to appear in on the list. But with Arteta now hinting that Iceland international could end up staying, Arsenal will be in the difficult position of needing to leave out an overseas player again once Odegaard's arrival is confirmed.
Shkodran Mustafi was not even involved in the squad during the 1-0 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Southampton on Saturday, so it is thought that he could be the one to miss out.
The German has already been linked with a move away from the Emirates this January which would ultimately mean that Arteta is not forced to leave anybody out.
The Spaniard will be eager to ensure this is the case after previously stating his desire to have a smaller squad where every player feels involved.
“Well, we could not carry on with 31 players in the squad. This is unmanageable," he said earlier this month.
“When you have to leave some of the foreign players out, it makes it even more difficult.
“For a few weeks maybe it’s okay, but to do it for months and maintain the health and ambition and the chemistry around the place it’s really complicated.
“One of the main objectives was to make some decisions on how we’re going to offset that.
“For me, the important thing is that everybody feels involved and that they have a chance. They’re all fighting for a place but they need to feel they have the opportunity to play when they perform.
“When you’re completely out of the equation, it makes it really difficult to find that motivation.”
