SETTABLOID

Mikel Arteta has once again called for patience in the development of Arsenal’s young sensation, Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old made headlines in September 2022 when he became the youngest player to ever feature for both Arsenal and the Premier League, debuting against Brentford. Since then, Nwaneri has continued to impress, scoring a brace in his first start for the club against Bolton last month.

Despite his progress, Nwaneri has only made brief appearances in the Premier League so far. However, his performances have sparked growing demands from fans to see more of him, especially with the absence of Martin Odegaard. Arsenal have been missing the creative spark that their captain provides, and some believe Nwaneri could help fill the void.

Mikel Arteta will be hoping Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber can return from injury for Arsenal’s Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk. The duo missed the weekend defeat to Bournemouth, though Arteta will have been pleased to welcome Ben White back into the fold.

The right-back has not featured since the 2-2 draw at Manchester City with a groin issue plaguing him for the last few weeks. Saka meanwhile, had been dealing with a hamstring problem picked up on international duty while Timber suffered his injury during the 2-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain.

With such a huge clash against Liverpool on the horizon, Arteta is facing a number of decisions for the coming weeks and beyond. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey have also been carrying knocks but all three featured over the weekend and thus will likely be available.

Mikel Arteta is still dealing with numerous Arsenal injury worries ahead of the Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk – despite four players overcoming fitness concerns to play against Bournemouth. Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey, despite both leaving international duty early, started the game along with the returning Ben White.

Despite some key players featuring, the Gunners still suffered their first defeat of the season, with William Saliba sent off in the first half. Gabriel Martinelli, who was dealing with a calf injury while representing Brazil, also appeared off the bench and missed a golden chance to put his side in front before they conceded twice in nine minutes.

Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber missed the clash because of injury, despite Arteta’s hopeful update before the defeat at Vitality Stadium. “It’s not a serious injury, and he’s evolving well,” he said of Saka. “He was probably good enough to play with the national team second game. We have some big tests today [on Friday] so we are hopeful.”

Mikel Arteta has provided a fitness update on Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Saka was absent for Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth with a hamstring issue picked up on international duty. There had been suggestions that the 23-year-old could be available for the trip to the Vitality Stadium, but ultimately the problem was too big to overcome. Now Arteta has suggested that he has a chance to be involved on Tuesday.

Arsenal have seen their Premier League title hopes take a significant hit with both Manchester City and Liverpool winning after their defeat to Bournemouth. The Gunners could have gone top, albeit briefly, had they secured maximum points at Vitality Stadium, but instead they suffered their first defeat of the 2024/25 season.

Goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert sealed the win for the Cherries after William Saliba was sent off in the first half. As a result of Arsenal dropping points, both Liverpool and Man City were in prime position to take advantage as they faced Chelsea and Wolves, respectively, on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta has restored Arsenal to former glories in so many ways but there is still one thing – besides the Premier League title – that the club are yet to achieve under the Spaniard’s leadership.

Trusted more than any other manager in the Stan Kroenke era, Arteta has had a remarkable degree of autonomy in terms of steering the club according to his vision.

But while Arteta would love to have complete creative control at the Emirates, that vision has to exist within the financial margins that are set out by the owners, the Premier League and UEFA.

Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) are one factor, limiting financial losses to a maximum of £105m over a rolling three-year assessment window.

Cash flow – which, unlike Arsenal‘s profit-and-loss reporting, is a measure of how much money the club have in the bank – is another consideration.

As the de-facto face of the club in the absence of a weekly press conferences from Stan or Josh Kroenke, Arteta needs to be far more clued up on the finances than the average armchair accountant.

Sporting Lisbon president Frederico Varandas has given an honest verdict on the chances of Viktor Gyokeres leaving the club in January amid reported interest from Arsenal.

The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for Gyokeres during the summer transfer window, who is reported to have a €100million (£83.3million) release clause in his contract. Arsenal were reported to be interested in signing a new striker during the summer, with Gyokeres one of several players mentioned as potential targets.

Gyokeres was joined by RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Victor Osimhen, who left Napoli to join Galatasaray on loan, Ivan Toney, who moved to the Saudi Pro League from Brentford and Alexander Isak of Newcastle United. It seems that the links to Gyokeres have been the most prominent from an Arsenal perspective, but the striker remained in Portugal over the summer and has already scored 12 goals in the same number of appearances across all competitions for Sporting this season.

Varandas has spoken about the chances of Gyokeres leaving Sporting when the transfer window opens in the New Year. The club president admitted there is a possibility of an exit but that it is rather unlikely at this stage.

The Gunners remain unbeaten in Europe this season after a 0-0 draw against Atalanta and a 2-0 win over PSG, while Arsenal are also performing well in the Premier League, sitting third.

However, Mikel Arteta could be forced to take on the Ukrainian giants without two of his best players, after Alex Howell of BBC Sport shared what he noticed during Monday’s open training session at London Colney.

Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber not seen in Arsenal training

Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were both absent from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth, with the England international carrying a thigh injury, while the Dutchman is said to have a muscle problem.

Arteta will have hoped to welcome both back into the fold on Tuesday evening, but it seems the duo are likely to miss another game, as Howell could not see either of them training at London Colney.

Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were not both present for Arsenal are their final training session before their Tuesday night European game. This will come as a big blow to Mikel Arteta who has been very unfortunate with injuries this season.

Arsenal take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League wanting to get back to winning ways following the defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening. With a clash with Liverpool to come, the open training session on Monday afternoon provided an insight into which players could indeed be available.

Saka was a late call to play against the Cherries but Arteta decided not to take the risk. Speaking before the afternoon’s trainin g, the Spaniard provided an update on the winger and Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal return to European action looking to get back to winning ways following their defeat to Bournemouth on the weekend. Shakhtar Donetsk make the trip to the Emirates Stadium to set up a narrative regarding Oleksandr Zinchenko as he faces his former club.

Arsenal have several injury concerns and some players back in contention following absences. Mikel Arteta will need to get the selection right, especially with Liverpool coming to North London just five days later.

The big question that emerged from the game with Bournemouth was how are Arsenal going to continue to cope without Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. The lack of creativity is glaring and against Shakhtar Donetsk Mikel Arteta has a choice.