Arteta looks at small percentages before first game of season

The pre-season preparations are finished and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is set to speak at his first pre-match news conference of the Premier League season.

The Gunners have finished in second place for the past two seasons, but last season felt like a big step in the challenge to topple Manchester City as they took the title race to the final day.

Arteta is an intense character and he will always be looking for a way to make up the small percentages that make all the difference over a long campaign.

We have seen the innovative way he delivers team talks on Amazon's All or Nothing documentary and there have been reports that he hired pickpockets to make sure the team are alert at all times.

The squad is also continuing to evolve. Arteta has brought in Riccardo Calafiori as he continues to build a physically imposing and defensively resilient team.

Arsenal are also in talks with Real Sociedad for Mikel Merino, but a traditional number nine is still not in the building, so it will be interesting to hear if Arteta thinks they need one.