SETTABLOID

Arsenal will likely have just two intense training sessions in preparation for their Premier League clash against Southampton this weekend. On Tuesday evening, the Gunners put in a professional performance against Paris Saint-Germain to win their first Champions League game of the season.

That victory was Arsenal’s third in six days at Emirates Stadium with Bolton and Leicester also beaten. With three fixtures arriving in quick succession, Mikel Arteta has tinkered with his starting XI, which has allowed Ethan Nwaneri and others to shine, though injuries have made that far from straightforward.

Ben White and Martin Odegaard are both currently missing and Jurrien Timber could soon join that list following his early withdrawal against PSG. In terms of good injury news, Mikel Merino and David Raya have both recovered while Takehiro Tomiyasu has been spotted training for the first time in two months.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping Martin Odegaard and Ben White can return from injury over the coming weeks. Both players have missed the last few weeks with Odegaard’s absence dating back to the September international break where he suffered ankle ligament damage.

“After recent scans, they’ve showed that he’s got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle,” the Gunners head coach revealed in mid-September. “We’re going to miss him. It’s quite significant, so we’re going to lose him for a while.”

Arteta also suggested he would not feature for Norway during the October international break with national team head coach Stale Solbakken seeming to confirm as such. “He is far from being in the squad,” he said of Odegaard. “We will have to see how far he gets during this international break.

Mikel Merino’s arrival at Arsenal certainly took a long time, so it was fitting that his debut did too.

The Spanish international was desperately unfortunate to suffer a freak shoulder injury in his first training session after signing from Real Sociedad. The lengthy time out has left plenty of question marks hanging over the 28-year-old – namely, where he will fit in to the Arsenal midfield. Mikel Arteta has given us a bit of a clue.

“First, he is going to bring an unbelievable football brain,” the Arsenal boss said when asked what his namesake would offer the side. “He is so intelligent, the way he decides, he occupies spaces, he makes decisions and it is very rare to see that. He is a really talented player in every phase – defending and attacking.

The Premier League have confirmed their September nominees for Player and Manager of the Month, with Arsenal receiving nominations in both categories.

In the running for Manager of the Month is Mikel Arteta, following a win away to Tottenham Hotspur, an unfortunate draw away to Manchester City, and an impressive (if perhaps overly dramatic) 4-2 win at home to Leicester City.

Then Arsenal have Gabriel Magalhaes in the Player of the Month category, following his goals in both the trip away to Tottenham Hotspur and the away match against Manchester City.

Gabriel also helped his team to a clean sheet in the Spurs game, and he helped the Gunners’ 10 men to hold out until the very final minutes of the City match.

Mikel Merino is thrilled to have finally made his debut for Arsenal and has expressed his admiration for the Gunners’ training sessions.

Mikel Arteta signed Merino during the last transfer window, but his debut was delayed due to an injury he sustained shortly after joining the club. However, he recently made a brief appearance in Arsenal’s match against PSG, much to the excitement of the fans who had been eager to see him in action.

Merino arrives at Arsenal with a reputation as one of Europe’s top midfielders, having previously played for Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad. Now, he aims to create lasting memories at the club and has been particularly impressed by the intensity and quality of Arsenal’s training sessions.

It’s only October, but if you had to pick a player of the season for Arsenal, Jurrien Timber would be a pretty good bet.

The Dutch international has made up for lost time after missing a year with an ACL injury. Some standouts have come in the North London Derby victory over Tottenham and the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Arguably Timber’s best performance so far though came in the first half of Tuesday’s 2-0 win over PSG. The 23-year-old was sublime as Arsenal eased into control of a Champions League match against top quality opponents. Unfortunately though Timber’s night ended earlier than expected.

Arsenal enjoyed an impressive 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s side were comfortable winners over the French champions with goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka sealing Arsenal’s first victory in this year’s competition. The Gunners’ win was also notable for Mikel Merino’s debut.

The Spanish midfielder arrived in North London this summer from Real Sociedad on a four-year deal with an option of an additional year. Arsenal will pay in the region of €32.5million (£27.4m) plus €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.

Merino came on for Thomas Partey after around an hour against PSG with his arrival receiving a huge reception from the Emirates Stadium faithful. The 28-year-old will now be hoping to earn his way into Arteta’s starting lineup for Saturday’s game against Southampton.

Kai Havertz continued his fine form at the Emirates Stadium, scoring the opener in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. The German striker, who initially had a slow start to his Arsenal career, now can’t stop scoring in front of his home crowd.

Havertz broke the deadlock in the 20th minute of the second round of fixtures in the revamped Champions League. Leandro Trossard delivered a perfectly floated cross into the box, and the former Chelsea star beat PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to the ball.

With Donnarumma stranded, Havertz guided his header into the net with ease, marking his fifth goal of the season in just his ninth appearance across all competitions.

Gabriel Magalhaes has made his love for Arsenal perfectly clear in a social media moment with Jurrien Timber. The Brazil international has been in superb form this season, with the defender playing a pivotal role in helping his side keep five clean sheets so far – while also scoring two crucial goals.

With the Gunners becoming set-piece masters, Gabriel has been the one to benefit with headed goals coming vs arch rivals Tottenham and Manchester City. Nicolas Jover, the coach credited with Arsenal’s set-piece dominance, saw his hard work pay off yet again when Arsenal scored from a direct free-kick against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League earlier this week.

Arsenal continued their fine start to the 2024/25 season on Tuesday night with a convincing victory over French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored the goals in the first-half at the Emirates Stadium to move the Gunners to eighth in the Champions League league phase table.

Mikel Merino made his debut for the club after being forced to wait for his first appearance due to injury. However, there was a fresh injury concern with Jurrien Timber going off at half-time.

Jurrien Timber

Injury: Muscular

Timber started for the seventh time in a row on Tuesday night and was impressive against Bradley Barcola at right-back. However, he did not re-emerge out of the dressing room for the second half and was replaced by Jakub Kiwior.