Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta believes the club's "significant" close-season business laid strong foundations and going "backwards to go forwards" has created stability in their project.

Six new faces arrived at the Emirates Stadium before the transfer window slammed shut on August 31, with Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares, Albert Lokonga and Martin Odegaard signed to bolster the squad.

Arsenal started badly, however, losing each of their first three Premier League matches without scoring amid an injury crisis before the first international break.

Since then, however, Arsenal have won three games in a row, including an emphatic 3-1 victory in the north London derby over rivals Tottenham, and Arteta feels the Gunners' long-term project is finally starting to bear fruit.

“Momentum is down to confidence, it’s down to believing in what you do and really feeling it and trying to embrace it and adding something every week, making sure that the steps are forwards," Arteta told Sky Sports.

“In every project, that is impossible to happen every single week and sometimes you have to go a little bit backwards to go forwards. You have to realise that and not lose perspective.

“The changes we made this summer were probably the most significant that we have made since I’ve been here. Now you start to get a sense that we are all on the same page.

“Any project needs the right foundations and now we have clarity in what we want to do. We start to have some stability."

Once the squad gels completely, the Arsenal boss feels his team will achieve an even higher level of performance.

“We have to start unity, which is a big part of it," Arteta continued. "When that happens, the better the decisions are, everything is more calm and settled and things start to happen.”

The Gunners face Brighton and Hove Albion away next, as they bid to extend their winning streak and go into the next international break on a high.