Mikel Arteta makes defiant Arsenal claim with Martin Odegaard update for Tottenham clash

Mikel Arteta has insisted his players are ready to prove they can be champions in Arsenal’s make-or-break week.

‌Injury-hit Arsenal face three daunting away games with the North London derby at Tottenham on Sunday, followed by their Champions League trip to Atalanta and a title crunch at Manchester City.‌ Gunners boss Arteta did not rule out captain Martin Odegaard for the Spurs clash and says the Norway midfielder is “super positive” and has not given up on making it.

‌But Arteta, who is without suspended England midfielder Declan Rice, says they are up for the challenge and must prove themselves in their nightmare run of fixtures.‌ Arteta said: “It’s always difficult against the opponents that we will be facing, for sure. But we have tremendous players and a really good squad.

‌“We are really hungry and we want to do it. To deliver what we want, we need to be able to respond to these scenarios and the team is ready.

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“When you are able to perform, able to deliver and win those games, it’s a huge boost, we know that and that’s why we’re going to try so hard.”‌ Arteta also insisted they will go to Tottenham with “unbelievable energy” but claimed if they only focus on the next three games then they will run out of steam for the rest of the campaign.

‌Arteta added: “If we look where we're going to be at the end of May and the amount of games that we have to play and the level and the challenges ahead, we cannot think like this. We're going to run out of oxygen.

‌“I want to have the energy and enthusiasm for the next day, the next game and prepare that in the best possible way and that's what we're going to do.‌ We're going to go to Spurs with unbelievable energy and believe that we're going to go there to be ourselves and try to win the game.”

‌Odegaard injured his ankle on international duty but had a scan on Tuesday which has given Arsenal hope he will not be out for as long as the Norwegian FA first feared.‌ But Odegaard will undergo further treatment and tests while Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori is also a fitness worry while Gabriel Jesus should be back after injury.

‌On Odegaard, Arteta added: "We need some more tests. Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. He’s super positive about everything. Martin wants to be here every day, but we have to wait and see. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens.”