Fighting arena should include pilot (7)
I believe the answer is:
cockpit
'fighting arena' is the definition.
'cockpit' can be an answer for 'arena' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'fighting' bit.
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cockpit that I've seen before include "Area at the front of a plane" , "greenhouse" , "Where fights take place" , "Pilot's cabin" , "found in plane" .)