Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of Arsenal's clash with Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday night. He provided the latest team news and even the status of William Saliba ahead of the match with Manchester City in more than a week's time.

Transfer of course came up to which he made reference to the confusion at seeing some links which are simply not true. The press conference ended in a brilliant back and forth about the reason for playing Thomas Partey at full-back.

You can read every word from the press conference which football.london was in attendance for here.

READ MORE: Ethan Nwaneri returns, Calafiori and Sterling decisions - Arsenal line ups vs Dinamo Zagreb

READ MORE: Arsenal get major Ethan Nwaneri and William Saliba injury update ahead of Dinamo Zagreb

On the return of Calafiori and Nwaneri

Very positive news. We missed them for a few weeks, and they return today for training, so they will be available for the game.

Still no William Saliba, any update?

No, no, I think he's evolving well. The last few days, he was feeling much better already, but this game comes a little bit too early for him.

Music used in training, is that a regular thing and what’s the thinking?

It’s something we’ve done for a few years now, and it’s part of training and we use music as another element of our training sessions to be the energy to change some purposes that we want in the training session and I think players enjoyed it.

You can all but secure qualification with a win tomorrow?

Yeah, obviously, so far, we've done really well. We're in a really strong position, and now we try to capitalize at home, you know, the way that we've done for many months. So we need a strong performance tomorrow against a really good side and we'll try to get it.

Qualifying opens up a gap, is this what you have in mind for a break away?

My thinking is, let's do what we have to do first, which is always difficult because we're talking about the Champions League and, I mean, we managed to do that, obviously we'll have the best ideas on the table to make the right decision.

That break helped a lot last season?

Yeah, it was very helpful. I mean, with the schedule that we had for the last three months you can have a break and reset a little bit and work on things and rest from people with some people are back.

Two weeks left of the transfer window, are you enjoying it?

I love it!

Do you laugh when you keep getting linked to plenty of strikers?

No, I understand it happens as well in the summer, and I get a lot of people texting ‘When are you signing him and him and something’ I don't even know what they're talking about. I don't follow it too much. I have enough work to do with a lot of things, so I don't get too distracted with it.

William Saliba latest, are you confident he’ll be back to face Man City?

Yes, I hope so.

On the music, does the type of music change for what you want to inspire from your players?

Yeah, depending on the drill, depending on the day, sometimes it’s certain players being the first song, the first two songs, the last song.

The injury situation in attack, Fabio and Reiss out on loan. Is there an option to bring any of them back as choice if you cannot strengthen the team?

Well, there were certain possibilities with the Fabio situation. We are exploring all the things that we can do, just in case we cannot do them as well. How those situations are progressing, and what we're going to have them available so we are aware of everything.

One of the players we saw out there this afternoon was Max Dowman with the senior team. How impressive is it to see so young with the senior team?

Very impressive at his age, as well some of the things that he does in training are unbelievable, he’s a player obviously with a huge talent that we have a lot of belief that we can develop him to become one of our own. And he's doing very well so far.

What do you see as the possible pathways to give him minutes at a senior level?

Well, at the moment, with all the legislation, there are a lot restrictions for your age. You know something that in other countries you don't even mention. So we'll have to wait and see. Already he is taking very fast steps, because every time we put him in a different challenge, different level, he overcomes that hill very quickly, which is great, we are on it.

Thoughts on Dinamo Zagreb?

Yeah, incredible talent. What they've done for many, many years, very consistently as well, the type of football that they always play in the very particular culture, with very, very clear philosophy, how they want to play the game so it's going to be a very difficult match.

Thoughts on Dinamo talent, Martin Baturina a big talent who Arsenal have been linked to?

Yeah, I don't like to talk about individuals, but they do have a lot of talent. They have obviously some individuals that [catch] your eye, because you have in your head as well all the players they play in that club and what they've done in the past. So, yeah, you know, it's a good League and a great club to follow.

What can you tell us about them? What do you know about them as a team? Cannavaro been in the job for a month.

Yeah, well, that's the context of the game, obviously, with a new coach, and with the fact that they haven't played a competitive match for a month, obviously, we know the games that they play, the friendlies and we watched them and just to try to gather and ideas and more principles, basically, than systems and formations, because Fabio played when he was In China, different formation when he was in Italy now as well.

So to actually understand what he's going to do, know the idea behind it, probably just so we'll adapt to that tomorrow.

You spoke with Eduardo da Silva, you know him?

Not really, we didn't play together, but obviously it's a very familiar face with a very specific history as well, and certain moments as well, that obviously he became very important and very loved here. And then, as you said, the career he had there so very good to see people coming back that they've been here with a big smile on their faces.

Bukayo without his crutches… could he back before March?

No, that is not going to change. We have done the process, and the time we had, and that phase has gone now, and he is doing really well and he is feeling better day-by-day, but we have to respect the healing process and he obviously still has a lot of stages to go through in his rehab.

On Ethan being back

It was a big setback because he was getting some consistency, more minutes, we made him play in a different position and he was doing really well and suddenly this happens. It is understandable that the load goes through the roof immediately and that is something that we have to manage.

How many times this season do you think you’ve been able to plan to change the team?

Whatever I say is probably not the right one, but I think if there is one or two I would be surprised.

That few?

I think so.

Because one of the things when you look at the team in the full-back area and the forward area, there's been a lot of injuries in the same position. The one place there's not been many is in the middle of the park with Partey, Rice, Jorginho, I think I was looking at the numbers, the last 16, 17 games you’ve changed it in there 16 times. Partey's gone to right-back a few times, do you think moving him there sometimes, because it causes two or three people to change, actually disrupts the team?

I have no choice, I don't have another full-back.

You don't have another full-back?

I don't have another right-back, no, I have Jurrien, but nobody else.

Timber could have gone to right-back, you could maybe bring a centre-back, that's the alternative choice isn't it, to keep some consistency in the place where you've players available?

Sorry I’m not understanding.

Sorry, sorry, I know, if you keep the consistency in one area, if you weren't moving Partey, you can keep some consistency in one area of the park.

And who plays as a right-back? When Jurrien is not available or his load is not ready?

No, Jurrien was available the other day to play right-back?

When?

When he played centre-back, that's what I'm saying.

The other day you mean?

Yeah.

It's the first time, but in relation to the way we have to play, we cannot have a right-footed player defending a winger, a right-winger.

No, it's just an interesting point, you know, when you...

Because I don't have another right centre-back.

Yeah?

Yeah. I don't have it.