Arnold admitted he had at least six blank lines on his squad list ahead of next month's defence of Australia's 2015 Asian Cup crown in the United Arab Emirates.

And although the clock is ticking, he's confident the talent is out there to fill the empty spots by next month if players step up and impress.

The former Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners coach has his network of connections working overtime around the world to keep tabs on Aussie talent and make sure they're all at peak fitness in January.

"There's still probably six spots up for grabs," said Arnold today. "There's probably one position in every department.

"We've got a great monitoring system that on the Tuesday I get all the footage of all the players, by Monday I get all the minutes of the players who played, if they've played or haven't played, goals scored. I get all the information.

"Players in form, players who are ready, players who have shown experience in the past that they step up for major competitions."

Contenders to pick up vacant slots include Adelaide United's Craig Goodwin and Sydney FC's Rhyan Grant who both made the last Socceroos training camp, and Perth Glory's Chris Ikonomidis could be vying with Adam Taggart if he bounces back from his minor injury at Brisbane Roar.

He added: "I was very happy with what I saw in the two games against South Korea and Lebanon.

"I'm excited. It's a great period to go into. Goodwin did excellent in camp, Ikonomidis is doing excellent every week. Taggart's scoring goals so he's back in contention.

"Those spots are still open to all the players who have the opportunity over the next three weeks to change my mind."

But Arnie admitted he would still have liked more time to prepare for the Asian Cup.

"I think every coach would say that, and Bert van Marwijk would have said the same," said Arnie. "The reality is I've been in the job for five months but I've been on the training pitch for 17 days.

"We've made a lot of changes in that short time. You can see clearly, we've changed the whole way we play.

"We're getting plenty of men in the box to score goals. It's a different way but it's a way that I believe suits the players we have."