Mikel Arteta: 'Premier League teams are improving tactically'

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has stated his belief that Premier League clubs are improving in the tactical aspect of the game.

He also said that analysing how teams play in order to find patterns is vital in modern-day football.

"If you analyse the stats in the Premier League this year, more than any other year there are less passes between the midfielders and the defence," he told Arsenal's official website. "That's a case of teams getting better tactically.

"I think it's important [to analyse the statistics]. You can just look at the statistics, but I think when there is something repetitive about a team, that's interesting.

"I think you can take the positives and the negatives of that team and everything you can use to make the difference nowadays is important."

Arsenal's next game is at home to Reading on Saturday afternoon.