SETTABLOID

The weekend was full of frustration for Arsenal. After Mikel Arteta’s men failed to be at their best against Brighton, Liverpool dropped points.

Had the Gunners come away from the AMEX Stadium with all three points, the gap would have only been four points at the top of the Premier League. Frustrations also remain from the Brighton game after Antony Taylor’s decision to award the Seagulls a controversial penalty.

The games come thick and fast for Arteta with an EFL Cup semi-final first-leg with Newcastle waiting for them this week. There is also the January transfer window to contend with.

So far, there has been more business done with players leaving the club. However, the Gunners continue to need reinforcements in attack following Bukayo Saka’s injury.

Plenty of players have been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium with Alexander Isak, Raphinha and Matheus Cunha all said to be on their radar.

Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori has opened up on what he and William Saliba said about the controversial penalty incident against Brighton.

The Gunners were forced to settle for a point with the 1-1 draw against the Seagulls on Saturday evening. Ethan Nwaneri had opened the scoring for Arsenal before Joao Pedro equalised for the hosts from the penalty spot at the Amex Stadium to see the points shared.

Brighton were awarded a spot-kick after a clash of heads between Saliba and Pedro in the Arsenal penalty area. Mikel Arteta later explained why he was surprised by the decision from referee Anthony Taylor, which was confirmed on VAR by Darren England.

Calafiori has admitted that he did not have the best view of the incident, which led to Arsenal dropping points against Brighton. The Italy international went on to reveal what Salbia said to him when he asked about the collision with Pedro.

The draw for Arsenal left them five points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table, who had two games in hand going into their clash against Manchester United on Sunday. The Gunners will now take a break from top-flight action, as they take on Newcastle United in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Mohamed Salah has again declared he expects to leave Liverpool at the end of the season – but he wishes to go out winning the Premier League.

The winger name-checked both Arsenal and Chelsea as title rivals and said beating them to the crown is “the most important thing” for him this season, even above Champions League glory.

Liverpool lead the Premier League table by six points with a game in hand over second place Arsenal. Chelsea’s consecutive defeats to Fulham and Ipswich Town, following a goalless draw with Everton, have seen them sink below Nottingham Forest and into fourth spot.

Salah has been the Premier League’s best player so far this campaign, spearheading Liverpool’s title charge with 17 goals and 13 assists in 18 top-flight matches. However, the Reds great says he is set to leave this summer as things stand.

Asked by Sky Sports if he really believes this is his last season at Anfield, Salah responded: “So far, yes. It’s the last six months. There is no progress there. We are far away from any progress. So, we just need to wait and see.”

Salah made it clear that he wanted to end his time at Liverpool with silverware in the cabinet and made one trophy in particular his north star. He explained: “In my interviews over the last seven or eight years, I always say [I want to win the] Champions League.

Kieran Tierney is in talks with Celtic over a return to his former club though no contact has been made with Arsenal.

The 27-year-old has endured a challenging last few seasons due to injury while also falling out of favour under Mikel Arteta. A loan spell at Real Sociedad helped his career get back on track before injury struck during his time in Spain and again a few months later at Euro 2024.

Despite that, Tierney started the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace and impressed during his 69 minutes on the pitch before having to be replaced because of cramp. Given the fact it was his first appearance since getting injured last summer, it was a very strong outing.

However, the decision for Tierney to depart Emirates Stadium was made in late 2024 with the Athletic revealing Arsenal had decided against activating an option to extend his contract, which expires in June. Following those reports, Arteta offered a verdict of his own on the left-back.

“Kieran Tierney has not asked me to leave,” he admitted in a press conference. “I wouldn’t play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed. He’s a big part of the squad now, he’s deserves to be in the squad and played really well after such a long time.”

Even though Arteta was reluctant to suggest he would be doing anything other than staying, Tierney could even depart this month. As for incomings, Arteta has provided a fresh verdict on the possibility of any new signings coming with a potential hint dropped that no arrivals will come.

Arsenal travel to the south coast to take on Brighton, looking to avenge the frustrating drop of points after the controversial Declan Rice red card in the first meeting between the sides this season. It was a game that saw the first drop of points for the campaign for the club.

Win on Saturday and Arsenal will be two points better off after twenty league matches compared to the same stage last season. It will be tough of course, despite the Seagulls being winless in their last seven, but the side is in good form with Arsenal winning their last three league games, with the away trip to Brentford a particular highlight.

Arsenal will have had far less rest than Brighton, but hope to have some key players back.

Tom Canton

The loss of Jurrien Timber is the most significant part of the line-up that must be addressed and while Mikel Arteta was positive about Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, both are not ready to return just yet. It seems likely that while there will be resistance to it, Thomas Partey is destined to play the role with very little in terms of other options.

This allows Declan Rice back into the midfield and creates the least amount of upheaval in the team. Mikel Merino has earned a continuation but Kai Havertz remains an option for the role with Martin Odegaard looking to rediscover some top form.

Ethan Nwaneri too has earned his spot in the side. I have made little change to the team with only two coming in from the win over Brentford but that is with a League Cup match next week where there is certainly a need for changes.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been told by Paul Merson that a sizeable offer in excess of £100m would leave Newcastle with little option but to sell Alexander Isak to them – while a second pundit has questioned the qualities of a £31m star only signed by the Gunners last summer.

The north London side returned to second place in the Premier League courtesy of a hard-fought 3-1 win at Brentford on Wednesday evening that leaves them six points adrift of leaders Liverpool. While Arsenal will face a tall order to close down the advantage Arne Slot’s side have at the top, the Gunners are viewed by several observers as the side most capable of denying what would only be a second English league crown to go to Merseyside in the last 35 years.

To give themselves a fighting chance, however, Arteta is reported to be ‘determined’ to add another attacker to his squad, having resisted the temptation to do so over the summer window. To that end, Arsenal are understood to have drawn up a sizeable eight-man shortlist of big-name options that can bolster their ranks.

The name understood to be at the very top of that list is Isak, though prising the Swede away from Newcastle looks far from an easy task amid an understanding that the Magpies could demand a British record fee over £115m for the 125-goal star.

However, Merson is convinced it might not cost that much to poach Isak away from the North-East, claiming an offer of £100m could well prove enough.

Assessing the funds Arteta could have at his disposal, he added: “Unbelievable. They’ve sold [Emile] Smith Rowe, they’ve sold a few players, they’ve sold [loaned Aaron] Ramsdale, they have money, they look after themselves very well, Arsenal.”

Arsenal have Isak hope as another pundit questions Mikel Merino

The 25-year-old’s contract at St James’ Park runs until summer 2028 and talks over extending that deal – off the back of his excellent form for Newcastle – have so far failed to bear fruit.

To that end, we understand that, while a deal does look prohibitive, it is not wholly out of the question with the player wanting to see if Newcastle can secure a return to the Champions League before committing to any sort of extension.

The Magpies are also trying to balance their plans to strengthen the squad alongside ensuring they do not overspend and breach the Premier League’s strict FFP regulations.

As a result, and despite Eddie Howe’s desperation to continue working with a striker who has quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s best, a sizeable offer could yet force the Newcastle board to seriously consider his sale. Whether such an offer will come this month, or be delayed until the summer window remains to be seen.

Arsenal could close the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to three points with a win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

The Gunners make the trip to the Amex Stadium for the Saturday night fixture with Mikel Arteta’s side handed the opportunity to put pressure on Arne Slot’s squad. The Reds welcome Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday and are about to embark on a tricky looking run which includes away trips to Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Bournemouth.

The Gunners go into the clash at Brighton on the back of a dominant display against Brentford. Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli ensured the north Londoners came away from west London with a 3-1 victory.

With the fixture against Brighton coming just three days after the clash at Brentford, Arteta may be tempted to make a few changes to freshen things up. One possible change could come at left-back as it may be a big ask to play Riccardo Calafiori in back-to-back games so soon after returning from injury. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Oleksandr Zinchenko both came on from the bench against the Bees and are options for Arteta.

The player in question is Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman, who hasn’t been a regular starter under Vincent Kompany this season.

The report claims Arsenal could make a move for Coman if the Bundesliga giants are willing to sanction a loan move for the Frenchman.

Coman has started just six Bundesliga games and two Champions League matches for Bayern this season.

Dean Jones’ report says Arsenal face ‘significant challenge’ in trying to find good value in the market and a loan deal could be a way of securing cover for Saka on a budget.

However, it remains to be seen how much of Coman’s reported £270,000-a-week salary would be covered be Arsenal if given the go-ahead.

Arsenal were linked with Coman last summer before wrapping up a loan move for Chelsea and England ace Raheem Sterling.

Kingsley Coman factfile

Coman came through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain before joining Juventus, but he didn’t get much game time for either club.

His big break came when he joined Bayern in 2015, initially on loan before signing permanently in 2017.

Coman won a multitude of trophies with Bayern, including a Champions League and eight Bundesliga titles.

Former Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann once labelled Coman as one of the best players in Europe.

Mikel Merino claims that Ethan Nwaneri is starting to ‘scare’ him after his Brentford performance.

The Arsenal academy graduate made his full Premier League debut as the Gunners secured a 3-1 success. It came at the same ground that Nwaneri, 17, became the club’s youngest-ever senior player.

And he repaid Arteta’s faith with a standout display against Brentford, with even his Arsenal teammates hailing his frightening abilities. Merino, who scored against the Bees, said: “He is an unbelievable player and also a really nice guy, really shy. He’s always keen to learn and try to listen to the more experienced players, the coach. Whatever can make him a better player, he’s always looking for.

‘But it’s not only him, all the young kids who are training with us, maybe not playing, but in the training sessions you can see that the academy is a big thing in this club also.

Boss Arteta has also hailed Nwaneri for his performances. Speaking after the win against Brentford, he said: “The game became very difficult from yesterday because, again, we lost some players and had certain issues around the camp.

Mikel Arteta will hope Arsenal can pick up from where they left off this weekend. Brighton will host the Gunners at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they both look to climb the Premier League table.

On Thursday night, Arsenal came from behind to defeat Brentford in a four-goal thriller. The north Londoners have now won each of their last four games across all competitions, and they remain unbeaten in 12.

This month, Arteta will be eager to capitalise on his side’s great momentum and narrow Liverpool’s lead in the title race.