MIKEL Arteta insists that his players are ready to fight for something “incredibly beautiful” as Arsenal brace themselves for what could be a make or break moment in the race for the Premier League title.

The Gunners entertain Southampton tonight (Friday) in front of their own fans at the Emirates, and Arteta is looking for the league leaders to respond following back-to-back disappointments which saw them throw away 2-0 leads at West Ham and Liverpool.

A victory over the Saints would see Arsenal move seven points clear of Manchester City, albeit having played two games more. The north Londoners certainly can’t entertain the thought of dropping any points tonight with a potential title decider at City looming on Wednesday.

Asked whether he has a message to those who have now written Arsenal off this season, Arteta said: “Nothing – I cannot communicate it enough here properly but what I can say is that our players have full belief in what we do, and what we know is that what is at stake is incredibly beautiful and we want to fight for it.

“The best way to do it every single day is what we continue to do, and play really well, play with our crowd every single ball and create an incredible atmosphere and win the game.”

Urging Gooners to be on song, Arteta added: “Friday night, it has to be electric. I want that crowd playing every single ball with our team and be no different to what we have experienced – at full capacity energy-wise and everyone very positive pushing the team.”

Can the Arsenal players rediscover their confidence after a wobble? Arteta is “very confident” that they can. The Gunners boss said: “Twists and turns are part of anything you do, especially in football. Whatever the aim or the target is, it is not going to go in a linear progression.

“You have to know that and prepare for that, and the way the team reacted this week is incredibly positive and we want to see that tonight.”

Meanwhile, Arteta has admitted that he doesn’t know when William Saliba – who has missed Arsenal’s last four matches with a back injury – will play again.

He said: “We still have to wait a little bit more. He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped and it is a bit delicate, so we want to be certain that when we push him, he’s ready to absorb the load and the risk that we’ll take.

“That’s not possible at the moment, it’s a bit early to know. Probably next week we’ll have more certainty. There is some evolution, he’s doing more activity but is not there yet to start to throw him into the pitch at the level the sessions demand to compete in this league.”