MIKEL Arteta has been watching the body language of his players, and the verdict is in: good things are coming.

Arsenal somewhat eased their festive fixture list this week by qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare. Their spot in the last 16 was sealed in scintillating style as they thumped Lens 6-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday – a result reinforced by the fact that the Gunners boasted six different goalscorers.

But it was a moment when Arsenal were 6-0 up that really caught the eye, when Gabriel dived in to make a goal-saving tackle before beating his chest in triumph.

“When the team has that body language, believing every game, every action the way we do, good things are going to come, and like the crowd, the players wanted more,” Arteta said.

“The fans play every single ball with us and when there’s that connection, it’s really powerful.”

Arsenal can now take a second team to PSV Eindhoven on December 12 knowing that they have already topped the group. Reflecting on the achievement, Arteta said: “Now the job is done with what we wanted to achieve. Every time we to play a football match, we want to win it and we prepare for it in the best possible way, but it gives us some room certainly, in relation to the squad we use.”

The Premier League leaders will now switch their attentions back to the domestic scene as they prepare to welcome Wolves to Ashburton Grove tomorrow (Saturday). Arsenal go into the game with the best defensive record in the division so far this term. And Arteta believes the Gunners’ midweek win – that saw Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Jorginho all find the back of the net – will only add to his team’s confidence going the other way.

He said: “With Saka, with everybody, Gabriel Jesus as well, is in tremendous form in the Champions League.

“We shared six different scorers, so that’s great that the team has this capacity. Kai again scored – that’s two goals in two games. It’s really good for the confidence of the players.”

Few players will be feeling that confidence more than Havertz, who followed up scoring the winner against Brentford by igniting the goal-rush against Lens.

Arteta added: “Scoring goals, playing well, participating in wins – those are positive attributes. You’ve seen the reception of his teammates, the crowd singing his name and being with him in every positive action that he had – those are all good things that are going to help him to show why he’s a tremendous player.”