THE rumour mill is ramping up and Arsenal fans are getting excited about the prospect of the Premier League leaders making not one, but two marquee signings this month.

There is renewed optimism that the Gunners will reach an agreement for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhailo Mudryk after seeing an initial bid of £55million for the Ukrainian winger reportedly turned down. Talks between the two clubs are thought to be progressing well with Arsenal expected to mount a second bid closer to Shakhtar’s £85m valuation of the 21-year-old in the coming days.

With reinforcements desperately needed to bolster Mikel Arteta’s limited squad, the north Londoners are also said to be leading the race to sign Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix on loan.

Any deal for the 23-year-old Portuguese forward is far from simple, however, with Atletico believed to be demanding in the region of £19m for a six-month loan deal – a fee that Arsenal are understandably unwilling to meet.

Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans is also still being heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium but Arsenal could be tempted to risk waiting until the summer to snap up the 25-year-old midfielder when he will be available on a free transfer.

Arteta inadvertently made it clear just what he thinks about the depth of talent he has at his disposal on Tuesday night when Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium.

Needing to find a way to penetrate the Magpies’ miserly defence, the Gunners boss only turned to his bench once – and that was to bring on right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Quizzed about Arsenal’s transfer activity, Arteta said: “We are trying to improve the squad in every window. This is no different, we will do our best because we cannot waste any window with the squad numbers that we have. We shall try.”

Arsenal are expected to ring the changes on Monday night when they kick off their FA Cup campaign away at League One side Oxford United.

Having been overlooked when Arsenal were so desperately in need of a goal against Newcastle, summer signings Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos are in line to be given another chance to try and impress, while Sambi Lokonga, Kieran Tierney and Rob Holding should also all feature at the Kassam Stadium.

It will give Arteta the chance to rest and protect his first-teamers ahead of a make-or-break run of league fixtures, starting with a north London derby away to Tottenham on Sunday, January 15.

Explaining why he’s “so proud” of his squad this season, Arteta commented: “The personality, the cohesion, the determination, the clarity of the way we want to play – they’ve been great. I’m especially proud of any way we play against any opponent.”