Arteta also confirmed Arsenal were considering travelling to Dubai for a training camp after their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle on 5 February. Elimination from the FA Cup means Arsenal will have nine days without a match if they secure automatic qualification for the Champions League knockout stages and Arteta must hope a mid-season break can have the same effect as last season, when they won 16 of their last 18 Premier League matches.

?We are looking at options,? he said. ?We knew that when we are involved in other competitions the schedule was going to be like this. We are prepared for that and we?re going to face it.?