Arteta on Timber, selection 'headache' and North London Derby
Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Sunday's North London derby at Tottenham.
Here are the key lines from the Arsenal boss:
Jurrien Timber, who ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in the opening game of the season, could return to the matchday squad on Sunday but will be assessed on Saturday.
Arteta said "it is a huge boost" to have almost everyone available at this point of the season and described it "as a good headache".
On it being a two-horse race to win the title after Liverpool's recent dip in form: "We have to look at ourselves and win our matches. We have to wait and see what happens. It sounds repetitive but this league is tremendously demanding and there can still be a lot of turns."
He said the team spirit "is so good" and "everyone wants to start and impact the team" where possible.
On Tottenham: "The boys are going to be fully ready to play a great opponent. They will make it difficult for us and we will have to be at our best to beat them."
He said there is "more motivation" to win the North London Derby as a manager compared to when he was a player. He added: "You know what you can give to people and that is joy and happiness. When you have the chance to do that you want to make the most of it."
On the Opta supercomputer predicting a 27% chance of them winning the title: "Hopefully we can tweak that computer and make it higher! Can we upload new software or give it more tools?"
He said his side "keep raising the bar in training" and that is important for the remaining four games.
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