Arteta says Arsenal can improve despite hard-fought win over Hull City

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his side still have considerable room for improvement after their 1-0 Premier League victory over Hull City on Saturday.

Martin Odegaard scored the decisive goal in the 72nd minute at Emirates Stadium, securing three points that moved Arsenal five points clear at the top of the standings.

The result also gave the Gunners a points return from a possible 30 at the start of the campaign for only the second time in their history.

Arteta believes Arsenal’s performances will develop further as the season progresses, despite their strong opening to the campaign.

“I think it’s the first time, or second, in our history that we’ve done it, so that’s the difficulty of that and the games that we have already played and the away games, but it’s great,” he told the club’s official website.

“We can still be much better, and we will improve in many phases, and we will get certain relationships to a different level that will be even more efficient.

“That’s the next step, to have bigger margins and when we have them, the opportunities, put them away to make sure that we don’t have to hang in there the last few minutes.”

Arsenal were unable to add to Odegaard’s goal during a tense closing period, but held on to extend their advantage at the summit.

Arteta also praised the contribution of his players and staff after a demanding run of fixtures, highlighting the quality of the opposition and the quick turnaround between matches.

“I need to praise the players,” Arteta added. “The staff for what they’ve done in the last block of games because it’s been extremely demanding.

“The level of the opponents, how quickly the games and how they were coming and the way we played and performed and to get results is just remarkable.”