Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of Arsenal's clash with Brighton in the Premier League. The Gunners can move two points ahead of their same tally after 20 games last season in what shows the progress the side is making - equally, they could be one point worse off too.

The Arsenal manager was naturally asked plenty of questions about the latest regarding the team ahead of the game. An illness big hit the side before their game with Brentford meaning Kai Havertz missed out while there were also updates on other members of the squad.

There was also time for talk regarding the January transfer window with the market now open for business. Here is every word from the press conference on Friday morning before the trip down to the south coast.

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta provides key Arsenal update on Kai Havertz ahead of Brighton clash

READ MORE: Arsenal press conference: Mikel Arteta on January transfers, Kai Havertz and Brighton

Will Kai Havertz make it for tomorrow?

Yes I think so.

Has anyone else been affected by that bug?

No, the ones with the illness, I think they are going to be okay. They will train today, and if everyone is fine they should be available.

What about Raheem Sterling?

He’s starting to do some stuff on the pitch, so that's great news. As quickly as possible we want him available. Let’s see how he progresses next week and then see if we can get him available for the following week.

How are Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu getting on?

Ben is still a few weeks away. Tomi has done some stuff on the pitch but it was a long-term injury and we need to see how quickly he can progress, and how that knee reacts. But hopefully (he) will be good.

Will you have to continue managing Declan Rice’s minutes?

Yeah, in his case he’s played so much football. We have nine games this month and he had some niggles in the last few games, so had to come off. We have to manage every player and he’s not an exception.

More likely to sign someone in January or not?

I don’t know because the focus is on the players we have. If something stronger is in the market that we can afford and we believe is going to have a real impact in the team, we always have to be open for that possibility because we’d have the ability to improve the squad in the windows. But at the moment, the focus is on what we have.

Do you see anyone leaving in January? Kieran Tierney maybe?

Again, all the players that are there, I just want to focus on performing and impacting the team. If something happens there, we will assess it.

Is Ethan Nwaneri the most natural replacement for Bukayo Saka?

He’s a player who can play in various positions. It’s not a position he’s played a lot, even when he was in the academy, but he can adapt for the demands we have in two or three positions. I think he did really well the other day.

How would you reflect on the way Mikel Merino has settled?

We expected a very fast integration because he’s played in the league, he’s such an intelligent, experienced player and he fits our model very well. He had an injury, another little niggle and no pre-season because he played for Spain as well, so it took him a while to get set. Now you can see the impact he has in the team, his intelligence, the goal threat he offers to the team and more and more will come because he’s a natural leader as well. The more he grows in that role, we’ll see much more from him.

How much belief did Gabriel Jesus have to show in himself and how much belief did you have to show in him?

It’s about supporting our players and the players know that. Sometimes they have to go through periods that aren’t exactly how they planned because injuries are part of that. But as well, they have to believe in themselves. We have to make sure that if one day they doubt, we are there to make sure they feel how much we like them from our side and how happy we are to have them.

Brighton haven’t won in seven games. What do you expect from them tomorrow?

It’s a really tough opponent. When you see their home record, their way of playing and the capacity they have to adapt to different scenarios and shapes, it’s really impressive. He’s done something slightly different to before and I’m really impressed.

Was giving more academy players debuts a target this season or has it just been because of injuries?

The first thing we want to do is look in the academy. Can we get what we want in the academy? That’s option number one. If we don’t have it there, then we have to look elsewhere or develop our players in different positions and make them more versatile. Or we have to go in the market and recruit? In those two players (Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly), they are playing because they deserve it, not because of injuries. We had other options to play other players. They are playing because they deserve to play.

Is there anything you’ve taken from La Masia to Arsenal’s academy?

I would love to but the regulations here are unfortunately very different. A lot of the things that are the most impactful in my opinion, we cannot do here.

How do you see Arsenal’s academy developing? What would you like to see?

Many more coming through and especially that they feel that they have a chance. Anybody. The academy means players and staff, because the first thing we do with the staff is exactly the same. Everybody has the ambition, purpose and intention to show in any moment they can become part of our team.

Is the future bright for the academy?

I think so. We have put a lot of work in. Per and the team have done a lot of great work and we are on it. We know the level. With the system we have at the moment and where they have to come, the gap is huge. But we are trying to find ways that they can fulfil that gap as quickly as possible.

With PSR, academies are becoming more important, does it save you from going out and spending money?

Well, regardless of the PSR, that’s the first intention that we’ve always had, the thing is what you need is available in the academy in the timeframe that you need it as well because we ca have a lot of talent but maybe that talent doesn’t have the space in the squad, it something we’ve built over the years to create with the players that were coming through, the space in the squad so we can have them pushing other players that they have.

Is it a massive year for Lewis-Skelly both for club and maybe country too?

I don’t know, I think that it has to first be establishing as a first-team player, and performing at the highest level and things will happen naturally if they have to happen.

Is he good enough though?

I don’t know, until you play at that level you cannot say. Now he has to prove every day, every training session here, are you good enough to sustain that level consistently, that’s the objective.

Does the experience of being in a two-horse race the last two seasons give you that encouragement to chase down Liverpool?

All we have to be is show the same level of consistency and a bit more, because the last year we have been the best team in the league, broken various records and still haven’t won a major trophy so something is missing.

It can be very tiny, small details, you can pick up certain games, certain situations, but at the end we are so close and we just need to flip that coin to the other side to make that happen. It’s only going to happen if we do what we have to do and what we can control, the rest is out of control.

Nwaneri and Martinelli being two different profiles for the right, will you still go to Gabby because of what he can offer due to the volume of games?

I said on day one, when Bukayo got injured, I think it’s going to be a lot of different options, especially with the amount of games that we have, no player is going to play nine games in a row in that position its impossible.

So we will look at that, we will look at the opposition, the way they defend, the way they occupy spaces. Natural footed, inverted footed, it will be more, we need more players fit and protections in that unit, in relation to that we will make decisions and as well players’ performance. That simple.

Martinelli on the right, have you looked at games he has played there as a reference?

Yes of course, we look at a lot of things, the more recent one was when he had to play at Palace, and he played and they played with a back five and quite deep as well and he produced an assist, and a goal from that position so options are great, Gabby can play, Rash (Sterling) can play as well really really well, we have other options as well.

If you win tomorrow, you’ll be two points better off after twenty games, do you get the sense your team is performing to a higher level?

To a higher level yes, and especially to a higher level with a lot of very different circumstances and challenges we had this year. That’s why I think we’ve made big improvements in that sense.

Also same time last year you were fourth, this time you would be second, but the gap to the top is bigger. Do you use the gap as motivation or do you try to ignore it and put it out your mind?

Yeah we don’t know and this can fluctuate any week so, it sounds boring, but its about our performance but its about our performance, focusing on ourselves and on what we can control, keep evolving and improving and we perform at the level that we are doing we will win a lot of games.

And the reality that every game for everybody is a massive challenge.

Is there a chance Ben White could be playing before the end of this month?

It might be a possibility but he hasn’t done anything yet with the team. The knee looks good, he has reacted really well the first few weeks, everything going smoothly and now he needs to start to load in that knee and needs to start to get through many more things that up till now he hasn’t been able to do but hopefully, he’s good. His work ethic is un believable, naturally he’s a very gifted player so I’m very positive that we’re going to have him quite early but I don’t know when.

Jorginho and Thomas Partey, both out of contract, what’s the situation, is it a concern they can talk to foreign clubs and that they can both leave for free in the summer?

Well when that situation is in the contract, that is a possibility. It’s close communication with them to understand as well what the idea is, what they want to do, as well our intentions and then decide what is the best option for everybody, but its two players I am very very happy with that they are such a value in the squad. When I want to give them with the right mind frame, because it’s the most important part of the season.

You’re talking like you want to keep both of them?

What I can say is that it’s not what I want, its what both those players have in their minds as well and what their situations. I don’t want to start to have these conversations now, I want to have these conversations much later because the focus has to be on what we have to do in the season. They can understand the intentions and then we can see what we can do.

To some people’s minds you have to sign a striker to win the league, is that simplistic based on how many goals you scored last season?

I don’t know, obviously, it can be a perception, it can be a reality. Signing somebody is not enough, that’s for sure because that signing has to score then how many goals? It has to be a lot of things, sign and then score 20 goals from here to the end and you have a better chance? Maybe yes, I don’t know, but I’m very happy with the players that we have and the amount of goals we’ve scored as well, it’s more than enough to win a Premier League, our numbers as well but the reality is someone is doing more so we have to be better, that’s life.

Do people have to be realistic about what you can do in January?

That market obviously it’s much more limited than the one in the summer but, I don’t know, people’s expectations and dreams are something good.