SETTABLOID

Calafiori at the Euros and now in north London, would be forgiven for thinking that the Italian was slightly older.

Despite only being 22, Calafiori plays with so much authority and leadership, a player who just oozes class in each display.

Mikel Arteta will be aware of the areas in which the Italian still needs to improve, but all in all Calafiori already seems like an excellent addition.

That being said, William Saliba didn’t have a good night for France, a performance that was widely criticised back home.

But from an Arsenal perspective, fans will just be grateful to see two more key players returning injury-free.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been handed yet more injury worries ahead of the return of the Premier League this weekend. The Gunners travel down to take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off).

The Gunners sit in third place in the Premier League table, just one point adrift of leaders Liverpool. Arteta’s side are also on the same points as reigning Champions Man City in second place, in what could be shaping up to be a three-way race for the title.

The game against Bournemouth could potentially see Arsenal without several players through injury. The latest worry is Takehiro Tomiyasu, it is reported that the full-back has suffered a recurrence of a knee injury that kept him out of action at the start of the season.

In another blow, Gabriel Martinelli has suffered an injury while on international duty. In a statement, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said: “Player Gabriel Martinelli complained of pain in his right calf and underwent an MRI on Sunday night, which showed a small area of muscle edema in that area.

The 22-year-old mostly plays as a left-back for Arsenal, but he is naturally a central defender. He played a bit of a hybrid role on Monday night, which is similar to the job he does for Mikel Arteta.

Calafiori kept occupying a central midfield position when Italy were in possession. He was brilliant in taking up free space and made it extremely difficult for Israel to mark him.

However, it was a solid display from Calafiori, and his country’s media seem to be very impressed with his performance.

Martinelli has not enjoyed the most prosperous of 2024s and has only played a sporadic role for his country as a result. He was dropped for Brazil’s September qualifiers but recalled by Dorival Junior after a bright run of form in north London.

The Gunners had ten internationals away representing their respective countries in October, while Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, and Thomas Partey all remained at London Colney. Despite the reduction in the Gunners’ international representation this month, the injury bug has followed Arteta’s squad around the globe.

We saw Bukayo Saka limp off with a hamstring injury on Thursday night, and reports have since emerged regarding a calf injury sustained by Gabriel Martinelli after he made a late appearance off the bench during Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Chile on Friday.

The second international break of the season is almost over which means Arsenal will be back in Premier League action soon.

The Gunners are challenging Liverpool at the top of the league after the first seven matches of the season, with Mikel Arteta’s men aiming to make it third time lucky in the race for the Premier League title. They have been pipped to the post by Man City for the last two campaigns.

Arsenal are one of just two clubs in the league yet to be beaten in 2024/25. Man City are the others, despite that, it is Liverpool who are top of the table having picked up 18 points, Arsenal and City are one behind on 17.

Arteta take his side down to the south coast at the weekend as they look to close that gap. Arsenal take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off).

Arsenal take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday as the Premier League returns to action after a period of time off due to the international break. Arsenal have unfortunately not made it through this fortnight unscathed.

Both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are understood to have suffered problems which sees them as doubts for the clash with the Cherries. Arsenal were comfortable winners in last season’s clash but both Saka and Martin Odegaard started and scored however Martinelli was indeed missing with Gabriel Jesus operating on the left.

Mikel Arteta has several options in reserve to cope with his current absences plus the hope that some of his previously injured squad members will return. That said, David Raya is of course expected to continue in the goalkeeper position after continuing to establish himself as Spain’s starting keeper with Unai Simon unavailable.

There could be a scenario where Arsenal are without as many as six starting players who have established themselves into the side this season. While the Gunners have certainly had serious injury problems in the past, this is perhaps the worst that Mikel Arteta has had to deal with since taking over close to five years ago.

Prior to the Southampton game, Kai Havertz, Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all were available to start. Since that game, all four have either pulled out of international duty with issues before playing or in the case of the two wingers, have since suffered problems while with their respective nations.

All are therefore doubts about the weekend with varying levels of confidence in making it. Already out of the team are several players creating a list which creates a level of congestion in the medical room.

Arsenal could be without several first team players for the Premier League clash against Bournemouth after the international break.

Mikel Arteta has only been training with a handful of players for the best part of a week but his international stars are expected to return in the coming days. The Gunners have a number of injury worries going into the clash at the Vitality Stadium, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli picking up knocks while playing for their countries.

Some Arsenal stars did not even join up with their countries, with Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey pulling out of the Germany and Ghana squads respectively. In total, there are question marks surrounding the fitness of nine players ahead of the match against the Cherries.

William Saliba wowed the Arsenal fans with an exceptional piece of defending while on international duty with France. The 23-year-old played 90 minutes for Didier Deschamps’ side during their 4-1 win over Israel on Thursday and is expected to retain his place in the starting XI for the trip to Belgium tonight.

In preparation for the game at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, France posted a clip on social media which showed the players competing against each other in a training game. That video – which has fetched over 125,000 views – displayed Saliba producing a dramatic last-gasp piece of defending.

A neat pass down the line found Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku in acres of space and he needed to just stroke the ball into an empty net, but Saliba managed to find the pace to cover the distance and make a late interception to deny the forward. Wesley Fofana was among those to greet Saliba after his superb tackle.