Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits the direction of their season will be determined by their next couple of games.

The Gunners take on Crystal Palace at home on Thursday, and then face Newcastle United on Monday night.

If they win those two matches, they could close right up on the teams battling for a top four position this season.

Arteta knows what a boost it would be to get back in contention for a Champions League spot given their poor start to the season.

"I think the next two games are crucial to see the direction that we are taking and to reinforce all the things that we have improved on and the results that we are having recently," he told reporters.

"We will know much more I think after the next two games.

"We want to keep that consistency and having the belief that we can go into every game with the feeling that we are going to win it. The more games we are able to win the better that feeling is going to be.

"Obviously, to start thinking more about the table in a different direction, if you are able to win these matches your mind starts to look in a much more positive way.

"[Crystal Palace] are a really dangerous side and they have shown that against big teams. They are a really compact and organised team and you know what you're going to expect.

"They have players with a big individual talent that just need moments to win games, to create actions that can unbalance the game so we have to be very careful with that. Then, we have to play to be dominant again in the game.

"We go from the first minute to try to win the game, to attack them and be cautious as well of the strengths that they have and try to control them as much as possible."