After Thursday night’s win against FC Zurich, Mikel Arteta answered some questions from the media about the upcoming game against Chelsea on Sunday lunchtime.

The boss was asked about his defenders, the quick turnaround between games as well as England coaches, ahead of his meeting with Graham Potter.

Here is all he had to say:

on the progression of the partnership between Gabriel and Saliba at the position of central defender:

I think really well, really natural and there is a connection, a personal connection. You can feel it – there’s a chemistry. I think they’re improving each other, the qualities they have and I think they’ve been very consistent in terms of performance as well.

on the language in which they communicate:

It’s a mix between French, English and Brazilian! Sometimes I don’t understand, but they understand each other so that’s fine.

on Ben White being comfortable at right-back:

I think he’s really happy there and enjoying it. I think he finds a bit of freedom there and it shows when he has spaces that he likes to attack, so I think he’s happy there.

if he was surprised by his quality in attack:

He has this ability. Physically, he’s a really special player, he’s very smart and very talented, and he has a lot of courage to play this game. If you tell him to play in midfield, he will do it and do his best.

if All or nothing helped fans better understand Aubameyang’s situation last season:

I don’t know because I haven’t watched it.

if we underestimate English coaches in the UK:

I don’t know, so I don’t know, but I hope that’s not the case because I think we have exceptional young English coaches, and we have a lot of coaches who have done so much for this league , and are in the history of this league for how the game should be played and keep some special things that this league needs. English managers kept the changes from being too dramatic and quick, and the essence of English football still remains.

on Aubameyang’s suggestion that Arteta struggles to deal with big personalities:

No comment.

if it’s time for us to win the Premier League:

It was about time, because it’s been so long, so I totally agree, and we have to put an end to this period. I think we’ve done it so far, but there’s still a very long season ahead of us.

on whether the quick turnaround between the Zurich and Chelsea games is fair:

There is worse in life, that’s for sure. We have a game that we knew and prepared for, so there are no excuses. You have to be ready on Sunday very early to be able to face a very good team.

Get all the pre-match info you need ahead of the Blues game in our in-depth preview