Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claims his side ‘will have be at their best’ to end their SIX-YEAR winless record at Goodison Park on Sunday vs Everton

Mikel Arteta is enjoying a ‘battle’ against a physical Everton side, who have historically found Arsenal difficult to beat away from home.

The last time the Gunners beat the Toffees at Goodison Park was in October 2017 – and it is something Arteta is desperate to put right.

He said, “Sometimes we can’t avoid a fight. There are certain balls that you have to prove, and they have a certain playing style that they are extremely good at.

‘We have a very different one and when you try to impose your way of playing, it’s about making sure that your opponents’ strengths are completely hidden and that yours comes to the fore every time to fulfill your time .

“Our record speaks for itself: we haven’t won there in the last six years, so we’ll have to earn it, we’ll have to be at our best. That’s something we haven’t succeeded in yet, so we’ll have to start.

He added that he was looking forward to the physical battle between his team and the Toffees

The Arsenal boss was speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League match against Everton on Sunday

“Before I came here, we went to areas where we haven’t won in 17 years and we did that. “We have to look at what’s important, what we missed in certain games, and it’s about making up for that and doing it.”

Winger Pepe completed his move to Turkish side Trabzonspor last week, with Arteta squandering the £72 million spent to bring him to the club.

“I wasn’t involved in the process of that deal, but what I can say is he was a phenomenal guy who worked really hard and did his best, so it’s not his fault how much money we paid at the time,” he said. Arteta.

Arteta also spoke about Martin Odegaard’s (pictured) contract situation, claiming he was ‘optimistic’

He also told how impressed he was with how quickly new signing Declan Rice (pictured) has settled into life at the Emirates

The Spanish manager gave an injury update on Bukayo Saka (pictured), saying his Achilles tendon injury is ‘fine’ and that he had ‘trained normally on Friday’

The match comes as news emerged on Friday announcing that Everton had completed a deal for 777 Capital Partners to buy a controlling 94.1 percent stake in the club.

‘When things don’t work, you have to move on. There’s no point in trying something if it doesn’t work for either of us, so I think it’s best for both parties.”

He confirmed that Bukayo Saka “trained normally today” and had “nothing wrong”, and that his Achilles pain did not hinder his playing. Mail Sport had revealed earlier this week that the striker had a problem with the second half of last season.

On Martin Odegaard’s contract talks, with the club hoping to tie him down to a longer-term contract, Arteta added: ‘He’s our captain, he’s a huge player for us and a very important player for us now and for the future. We are very happy with him and want to keep him here for a long time.

‘We have a really good relationship with him and his agent. As soon as it is confirmed, we will announce it.”