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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium (kick-off 16:30 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
- On team news: "We still have another training session, so we will see tomorrow after that [on the return of Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori]. No [issues after the Inter game]."
- Arteta says the "man-to-man" game is dominating more in Europe and that football is "very different" in the Premier League compared to the Champions League.
- On options up front with Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz: "We were waiting for that with the amount of games that are coming up, and they are all going to have opportunities and minutes, so great to have them back and especially to have them in good form."
- Arteta declared Havertz "is very close" to returning to first-team action and they "have to be very smart in the manner we manage the load, and I am sure in the next few weeks he is going to play minutes".
- On Ethan Nwaneri going on loan: "We constantly have to monitor them and I think the talented players need to have minutes and Ethan in this case wasn't having enough minutes. The last thing I want to do is cut his development because he is such a talent and someone that loves and breathes footbal. We decided the best thing to do is leave and go on loan and then we have to pick the right place."
- On why Marseille is the right place: "Understanding the experience we had there with Willy [William Saliba] and Roberto [De Zerbi] is there, and he is a really courageous manager in the way he plays and with the way he plays with young talent as well, and I think he fits the way they play with the qualities we want to see for Ethan."
- On Pep Guardiola calling them the best team in the world: "I don't know, I think we are the team that wants to be constantly better, we are doing a lot of things right, but we are far from perfect, and our only aim is to sustain the level we are doing and try to improve again."
- Arteta reiterated that he wants Bukayo Saka "scoring and assisting in every game, and that has to be the aim at the level he has", but also noted "the impact he has in games around all the attacking process for us and opening up spaces for other players".
- On facing Michael Carrick's Manchester United: "With Michael coming in it's going to bring new ideas, the intensity rises up, you could see in the Manchester derby with their behaviour and the game that they played. We expect a tough match but we will adapt to that for sure. We are at home, and we know how important that is going to be for us."
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