Every word Mikel Arteta said on January transfer plans, Martinelli form and Tomiyasu fitness

Did you enjoy your days off at Christmas?

It’s a beautiful time of the year, especially when you have kids and they still have the magic feeling about it. We had the opportunity to have some time off because of the schedule this year and to enjoy that period in a different way.

Has anything changed on the fitness of Tomiyasu and Partey?

No, nothing has changed yet. We’re not going to have those two available unfortunately yet, and then we have the suspension of Kai. So I think it’s five players missing in the squad. So yeah, we are a bit short, but we have been doing well and we still have lots of other players willing to play.

Is there a chance we could see Partey or Tomiyasu before they go away on international duty?

There is a chance, yes. We’ll have to see. They haven’t trained yet so they’re still far away off that. Hopefully they can evolve in the right way.

Has it been decided when they’ll go off?

There is some talks between the clubs and the federations at the moment. We haven’t decided when is best to do it.

Does it feel different being at the top this time as opposed to last season?

It feels similar. It’s always a really good feeling to have the chance to be at the top of the Premier League which is even more competitive than last year and more difficult. Tomorrow we’re going to have a really difficult opponent in front of us and we’re going to have to be at our best.

How important is January for the window?

That’s a different matter. We’re just focusing on the importance of tomorrow, Fulham and the FA Cup. Then we’ll have a break to assess and think about the options that we have and how we can be better.

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Mikel Arteta gives