Ahead of Arsenal's home game against Luton Town on Wednesday evening, Mikel Arteta spoke the the press and insisted that his side need to show even more than they did away to Manchester City.

Despite currently being in the relegation zone, Luton have rarely been dominated this season, and have already gone toe-to-toe, despite ultimately losing, against the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Man United.

In the reverse fixture back in December, Luton actually led Arsenal 3-2 at one point, and looked to be hanging onto a draw until Declan Rice scored in the 97th minute to win the game for the Gunners.

On how he intends to approach this game, Arteta said: "We're going to be needing even more. It's after two and a half days. [Luton] are in a really good moment - when you see the games that they have played and even when they haven't won, they've been really tough.

"We have had some extraordinary results against the other two teams that are, at the moment, leading the table. We are not top so that means that we have missed certain points somewhere else and that's what we have to put the emphasis on now tomorrow."

  • Team news

Arsenal have had to stomach their fair share of injury concerns in recent weeks, but Mikel Arteta has delivered a positive update on several players' fitness ahead of the game.

Gabriel Martinelli was a major doubt for the game against Man City on Sunday, but was deemed fit enough to play more than 15 minutes as a substitute, and the Brazilian looked to his usual excellent standard.

Asked whether the 23-year-old is now able to play a full game, Arteta said: "He is because he was available to play against a really tough opponent three days ago. Again, we'll train today and see the state of every player and make the right decision tomorrow."

Bukayo Saka was also a doubt ahead of the game, but ended up being named in the starting XI. Despite this, the England international left the field in the 78th minute and appeared to have an injury issue as he walked off with an Arsenal physio, seemingly limping.

Arteta has dispelled any concern of a serious injury for the 22-year-old though, having said: "Yeah, he's fine. Obviously, we haven't trained, we’ve recovered and have a short live session today to prepare for the game, and we'll see whether he's in the best condition to start or not."

Arteta was also asked if this was an opportunity to give Saka time to recover, with the Spaniard answering: "We're just thinking about Luton and preparing for the game in the best possible way and earn the right to beat them."

Arteta also offered an update on the progress of Jurrien Timber, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during his first competitive game for the club after joining from Ajax last summer.

"He’s doing very well, he’s back training. He’s not far off, but the thing is that last step, he hasn’t played any minutes so does he need a game with the under-21s, does he need two games?

"We are going to have to see, especially because he’s training with us and we need to see how long that will take him. That last part is tricky and sometimes takes a while. Hopefully, as soon as possible."

Arteta also shared optimism at the chances of the 22-year-old featuring again this season: "I think he has a good chance. I don’t know the percentage, but I think he has a good chance and he’s going to push it as far as he possibly can."

Saliba and Gabriel have earned plaudits for their excellent defensive partnership this season, with the Gunners conceding the fewest goals so far in the Premier League (24).

When asked about when he first spotted the chemistry between the duo, Arteta joked: "When I decided with the club to send Wilo [William Saliba] to Marseille. I’m just joking!"

He continued: "You just feel it when you see the partnership and sometimes there is chemistry between two players that they complement each other.

"They are so happy to work with each other, to work off each other and it just flows when that happens. I think they will enjoy playing together and again, they've been really good."

Many fans, and also pundits, have attributed Arsenal's title collapse last season to the injury suffered by Saliba during the run-in.

Arteta was asked for his views on this opinion, but seemed less keen on getting involved in the discussion, saying: "So what is the narrative this season? Saliba is fit so what’s going to happen?

"There has to be a narrative, no? There has to be a narrative when he doesn’t play and a narrative when he does play."

  • Being 'excited' ahead of the run-in

Arsenal face the prospect of a potentially season-defining game every three or four days between now and the end of the season and, while some might be nervous about this, Arteta shared a different view.

"I'm pretty excited! I'm full of energy - it's the most beautiful part of the season."

The Spaniard was also asked how the situation compared to when he was a player: "It is different. I haven't been in this position when I was a player but I think it's different."

Many suspect that so much as a single slip-up in what little remains of the season could bring everything crashing down and, when asked if Arsenal needed to win every game left, Arteta seemed to be in agreement.

"I don’t know but it’s going to have to be really close to that, when you see the level and consistency of the other teams and historically what is needed to win in this league, it’s not going to be very far from that."