Arteta on contract talks, Havertz and having 'more levels to come'

On news that the club are set to open contract talks with a number of players, he said: "That’s what we’ve been doing in the last three years. Strengthening the squad and rewarding them."

He said Kai Havertz has been "very efficient in front of goal" after scoring in back-to-back games.

On what Arteta and the club did to build up Havertz's confidence, he said: "First of all support him, then give him the tools and time to excel his qualities. Everything is starting to come together."

Arteta isn't expecting any injured players to return, but reported that there are no fresh concerns.

He has no issue with playing every three days and said: "That's the beauty of it. We wanted to be in that position. The squad is ready and the players are hungry to play every game."

On if Arsenal are at their peak currently, he said: "There are more levels to come and I hope so. We can still improve and be more consistent."

On the potential to go four points clear with both Liverpool and Manchester City playing on Sunday, he said: "We can only control what we can do. Ifs in this league are not positive to have in mind. We are really hungry to play in front of our crowd tomorrow and win the game."

He praised Gary O'Neil's side and said: "They have a lot of quality over the field. They perform really well especially against the top sides. We are going to have to try and break them down tomorrow."