Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta appeared in a press conference to talk about tomorrow's match against Aston Villa in the fifteenth round of the English Premier League at Villa Park.

The coach began his speech discussing the team's condition: "Rice? We'll see, we have another training session this afternoon, and every hour is important to determine the players' readiness, then we will decide who will travel. Musquera's situation is complicated, and we need to conduct another examination today to know where we stand. Regarding Trossard and Saliba, just a few days and they will be with us."

He added about the match congestion: "Whenever it is possible to help the players and give them an extra day or extra hours to reach their maximum potential, it should be done. That's all. But we are definitely ready for tomorrow's match."

Regarding Mikel Merino continuing to play as a forward: "I think he has at least earned consideration for this role, given his level and the impact he provides to the team. The answer is yes."

Responding to Unai Emery's statement that Arsenal is the title favorite, he commented: "I don't know, every coach gives their opinion and that's it. We have to respect that."

He continued about Aston Villa and whether they have a chance to compete for the Premier League title: "Look where they are now (third place), if they continue doing what they are doing, every team in this position definitely has opportunities."

On the importance of winning tomorrow: "The message will be consistency... playing at the highest level and winning another match. We always return to the same point after Champions League matches or after last week's match, because this is the nature of the matches we face, and this is what you have to deal with in every game."

He emphasized: "Every time you win a match, you get a little closer to your goal, and that is all we can do. We must focus on performance and good preparation for tomorrow because we know the type of match we will play and we must be ready to achieve our full potential."

Regarding whether tomorrow's match is motivation for Emery, Arsenal’s former coach: "When you look at Unai Emery’s career, you will find that his level of motivation and impact has always been amazing everywhere. This is a question directed to him, but from my point of view, he does not need any additional motivation; he has enough within him."

About the club’s position on the transfer market: "We must always be ready. The moment we have a chance to strengthen the team or protect it, depending on what happens, we must be open to that. We don't know what might happen from now until the end of the transfer window, because that's football, we don't know, but we will definitely be alert, and we know where danger could come from regarding team balance, and we will be ready if we have to take any step."

He concluded regarding the possibility of players like Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri leaving to get playing time: "So far, we have not experienced a situation where players leave the squad for three or four consecutive weeks. We complete the squad with ready players, so at the moment it is very clear that there is no option to sell players or allow them to go out on loan."