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“(Inter is) a big game. If we win, we have the confidence back and we have to do it. We all want to play big games like these.”

Two tough tests await the Gunners and Mikel Arteta would have to find solution or his team will lose more ground in the title race.

The North London have already dropped down to fifth position in the league and they are seven points behind league leaders Liverpool now.

William Saliba will be hoping his team can find their form

If the gap increases more, it will be difficult to catch high flying Liverpool this season.

From now on, Arteta’s team will have to find their peak form and stay in the title race before their season gets over four months into the season.

More than performances on the pitch, the Arsenal players need to “stick together” as claimed by current club captain Bukayo Saka.

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Mikel Arteta’s woes continue with huge Arsenal problem on the horizon

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:54:49 +0000

Injuries and suspensions to key players have already derailed the chance for Arsenal to build up a head of steam this season, and there are more problems on the horizon for Mikel Arteta and his squad.

Ethan Nwaneri’s contribution to the Gunners Carabao Cup win over Preston saw the youngster gain some plaudits from his manager, but it’s that win which is going to cause issues.

Arsenal “definitely” making big January signing and club already “working overtime” to secure deal

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 09:39:24 +0000

The injury to Gabriel against Liverpool is going to see Arsenal enter the transfer market for a new defender in the January transfer window.

It’s well known that the Gunners have long been looking for a striker, but thanks to Gabriel and William Saliba, the North Londoners have been rock solid at the back, so a long-term loss of one or the other, if not replaced, could be catastrophic.

Arsenal to buy Gabriel replacement in January

Jurrien Timber was also injured in the same game, and Mikel Arteta gave an update post-match into the condition of the pair.

At that point, the extent of the injury was unclear, though Football Insider report that it could be a potential knee ligament injury.

Were that confirmed, and dependant on the severity, it could mean the end of the centre-back’s season.

Arsenal’s Gabriel got injured against Liverpool. Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Arsenal are clearly taking no chances regardless, with former pro club scout, Mick Brown, telling Football Insider that the Gunners will take swift action.

“They’re (Arsenal) definitely going to enter the transfer market,” he said. After Gabriel’s injury, the transfer team will be working overtime.

“They’ve already been looking at options to help the depth in that position.

“Saliba and Gabriel are so important to their team in that defensive unit and you need to know the level won’t drop if either of them are out. The defence is the reason Arsenal have become such a force.

“Finding new options for those positions is an issue that will be swamping them at the moment.

“The back four that ended the game against Liverpool is never going to be good enough to challenge for the title, so they’ll definitely be looking to improve that depth.”

The title challenge, as Brown suggests, is going to have to be put on ice if the club are unable to replace Gabriel in January.

If the Gunners are able to secure an elite-level exponent, they’ll need to hit the ground running in order to keep Arsenal competitive for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

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“Liverpool weren’t expecting it” – How Arsenal star in unfamiliar role led to Gunners goal

Mark Brus — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 18:01:14 +0000

Liverpool were perhaps taken by surprise by Ben White’s pass out from defence today that led to the opening goal for Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka.

White doesn’t normally play centre-back for Arsenal, but he had to start there today for Mikel Arteta’s side due to William Saliba being out suspended following last weekend’s red card against Bournemouth.

Still, see below as Arsenal-focused Telegraph journalist Sam Dean points out on X, formerly Twitter, that the pass by White to Saka was not necessarily the kind of ball Saliba would have played, so it perhaps ended up being a blessing in disguise for Arsenal as Liverpool weren’t expecting it…

Quite interested in that Ben White pass for Bukayo Saka's goal. I'm not sure William Saliba would have played that pass from that position? Different players, different skill sets etc. Perhaps Liverpool weren't expecting it.

— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) October 27, 2024

Arsenal have plenty of quality depth in their squad these days, and it’s pretty remarkable that, so far at least, they’re not missing Saliba too much, even though the France international is world class and usually a hugely important player for the team.

White is another quality player even if he’s not in his best position, so that’s not a bad option for Arteta to rely on while Saliba is out.

Ben White in action for Arsenal against Liverpool (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal facing further defensive issues against Liverpool

As well as Saliba being out, Arsenal are now also without Gabriel Magalhaes as he limped off early in the second half to be replaced by Jakub Kiwior.

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This could end up being a long second half for the Gunners, but, as the White pass for the Saka goal showed, you never know what other qualities you might get from the player replacing your first choice.

Arsenal have done well so far to mostly dominate this game, though they were perhaps a little more defensively suspect than usual when Virgil van Dijk headed home a corner for LFC earlier in the game.

Thankfully, Bukayo Saka returned from injury to start today’s game, so that attacking threat remains for the home side as they chase an important three points.

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Mikel Arteta comments on Arsenal potentially appealing William Saliba red card

Mark Brus — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:51:29 +0000

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has commented on the club potentially looking to appeal the red card decision against William Saliba in the weekend defeat away to Bournemouth.

The Gunners suffered their first loss of the campaign as the Cherries beat them 2-0 thanks to two goals in the second half, with Arteta’s side having been a man down since Saliba’s dismissal in the 30th minute.

This is not the first time Arsenal have had to play with ten men this season, as they’ve also been on the end of some controversial decisions which saw Declan Rice sent off against Brighton and Leandro Trossard shown a red in the draw with Manchester City.

Saliba’s sending off didn’t initially look as controversial as those other two, but it did come following a VAR check, while a similar challenge by Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo against Liverpool yesterday only received a yellow card.

Mikel Arteta on appealing William Saliba red card

The issue for Arsenal now is that they will be without Saliba for the Liverpool game, which is a huge worry as they urgently need a result against Arne Slot’s in-form side.

Arsenal often struggle against mid-table clubs but have done well in their recent matches against the big six, so this might be a real opportunity for them to bounce back and also dent their title rivals’ hopes at the same time.

Still, for now it’s not that clear if Arteta and co. will definitely appeal the Saliba decision on the back of that Tosin foul the following day…

Mikel Arteta says it will be left up to the club if they appeal the William Saliba red card because they need to compare it to similar incidents.

— Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) October 21, 2024

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Saliba has been a hugely important player for Arsenal since becoming part of their first-team in the 2022/23 season, forming a rock-solid partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence.

It would be a big blow for AFC to have to go into a big game without the Frenchman, especially as the club have already been suffering so many problems with injuries this season.

William Saliba was sent off against Bournemouth (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Martin Odegaard is a long-term absentee, while Bukayo Saka missed the Bournemouth game, and the north Londoners also had to take on Tottenham without Declan Rice when he was suspended earlier in the season.

It seems everything is going against Arsenal right now, and it may even be that they’ll be without all three of Saka, Odegaard and Saliba against Liverpool.

The Reds also have one major injury concern as Alisson Becker is out, but it would otherwise give them a huge advantage for their trip to the Emirates Stadium.

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Chelsea star escapes with yellow card for very similar challenge that saw Arsenal’s William Saliba sent off

Mark Brus — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 15:55:44 +0000

Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo got just a yellow card for a challenge that looked in many ways almost identical to the one that saw William Saliba sent off for Arsenal against Bournemouth yesterday.

Watch below as Tosin was pretty much the last man here, and bundled down Liverpool forward Diogo Jota when he seemed to have little chance of getting the ball, so what exactly is different about this from what Saliba did in the first half of Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth yesterday?

During Sky Sports’ coverage, Gary Neville and former referee Mike Dean attempted some explanation, but we’re not sure Arsenal fans will be convinced as it seems all these marginal decisions seem to go against them but not everyone else…

Was Tosin lucky to not see red here? ? pic.twitter.com/6DHRQufs1L

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 20, 2024

Neville said: “The difference to the Arsenal one from yesterday is that there are defenders around him. It’s clumsy from Tosin. Colwill is close to it and the ball is moving away but it won’t help Tosin’s confidence.”

Dean added: “There’s too much doubt there as the ball is angling towards the assistant referee on the far side so it’s completely different to yesterday.”

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Tosin Adarabioyo lucky not to get the William Saliba treatment?

Tosin made it into the Chelsea starting XI today despite not being a regular starter so far this season, and he’s now walking a tightrope for a large chunk of this big game at Anfield.

Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo looked lucky not to get a red card (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Blues fans perhaps won’t be too convinced by the former Fulham man, who really looks like he got quite lucky with some lenient refereeing here.

It will be interesting to see how Tosin copes in the rest of this game as he now can’t afford another mistake, with this incident perhaps one that could have been avoided if he’d been in a better starting position to begin with.

It remains 0-0 at the time of writing.

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“It’s just impossible” – Seething Mikel Arteta reacts to William Saliba red card in shock Arsenal

CJ — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 19:36:14 +0000

Mikel Arteta has bemoaned the red card shown to William Saliba as Arsenal fell to a shock 2-0 defeat away at Bournemouth on Saturday evening.

Arsenal arrived at the South Coast unbeaten but after a bright opening, were given an uphill task as William Saliba was sent off in the 30th minute for dragging down Evanilson as he raced through on goal.

The foul happened some distance away from Arsenal’s box, with Saliba caught out by a dreadful Leandro Trossard pass, and the French defender was shown a yellow card by referee Robert Jones. However, upon VAR review, the decision was upgraded to a red card, leaving Arsenal with an hour to play a man down.

The game turned on that moment, with Bournemouth taking control of the game. In the 70th minute — following a costly miss from Gabriel Martinelli — Ryan Christie opened the scoring, while Justin Kluivert made it 2-0 from the penalty spot nine minutes later.

Mikel Arteta reacts to William Saliba red card

Mikel Arteta was left seething with another red card. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

This is the third time in the space of six Premier League matches that Arsenal have had to cope with a red card, with no team in the English top flight receiving more than the Gunners. That said, this one did feel more deserved than the previous two.

Nevertheless, the decision still left Arteta seething, even if he tried his best to keep a lid on his emotions after the match.

“We are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we have to play another game in that context. With 10 men for 60, 65 minutes at this level, it’s just impossible,” Arteta told reporters (via Sky Sports).

On the officials’ decision-making, Arteta continued: “It was a decision made on the pitch. That decision was changed. Now I don’t think the decision is going to change again. So, decision made.

“Willy has never done anything like this but he doesn’t do it on purpose. It happens. We have to accept it, move on, and have that pain we are feeling for Tuesday [against Shakhtar Donestsk].”

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“His worst match” – Arsenal star ripped to shreds by the press after surprisingly poor performance

Mark Brus — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:42:43 +0000

Arsenal defender William Saliba has been heavily criticised by the French press after a poor game for his country against Belgium in the Nations League.

Saliba is widely considered one of the very finest centre-backs in world football at the moment, and it’s not often we see him struggle as much as he did yesterday evening, even if Les Bleus still ended up beating Belgium 2-1.

According to the Metro, Saliba has been singled out for strong criticism from a variety of French journalists, many of whom seem to agree that the 23-year-old was one of the team’s weaker performances, and that it was the worst they’d seen him play for his country.

Saliba gave away the ball at one point in the build-up to Belgium’s goal, while earlier in the game he’d slipped and given away a penalty, though Youri Tielemans missed from the spot, letting the Arsenal man off the hook.

Arsenal defender William Saliba in action for France (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

William Saliba poor form a concern for Arsenal?

AFP journalist Emmanuel Barranguet was quoted by the Metro as saying that the Arsenal defender had “played his worst match in Blue”.

Eurosport France, meanwhile, said it was a “painful evening for the Arsenal defender”.

Saliba has rarely put a foot wrong at club level, however, so will this really bother Arsenal fans?

As long as the Gunners star returns to his best for Mikel Arteta’s side this weekend, any concerns will surely be quickly forgotten.

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If anything, Saliba falling out of favour with the French national team might be seen as a positive by some Gooners, who won’t want him risking injuries and fatigue by playing too much football.

This would perhaps be a bit of a blow for Saliba himself, though, as he’ll surely take a lot of pride in playing for his country, which could also afford him opportunities outside of his club football to play in big games and learn from those experiences.

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Arsenal have been told how to stop William Saliba from joining Real Madrid

Ahad Shaukat — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:33:45 +0000

Football pundit Tony Cascarino has been told that Arsenal need to win trophies and be successful if they want to keep William Saliba at the club.

The Gunners defender is linked with a move to La Liga and Champions League winners Real Madrid.

The Frenchman has become one of the best defenders in the world and has helped Mikel Arteta’s team in the last two seasons to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title.

The Gunners will have to fight hard to keep the French defender at the club who could have his head turned by interest from Real Madrid.

Cascarino feels that only Arsenal winning silverware would convince the defender to stay at the club as resisting the urge to join Real Madrid is too difficult to turn down when the Spanish giants come calling.

“There are vultures in football hanging over football clubs all the time to try to snatch their best players,” the former Premier League striker said on talkSPORT.

“There’s no bigger vulture than Real Madrid.

Arsenal defender William Saliba in action against PSG. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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“Arsenal have to achieve that because Saliba is playing to the level of being a Real Madrid player but he’s got to be convinced that Arsenal are going to be a successful and winning team and challenging to win the Champions League because that’s what Real Madrid do so often.”

William Saliba has shown he is a world class defender

Saliba has shown his quality at the top level in the last few seasons, with the Frenchman contributing to Arsenal having the best defensive record in the Premier League last season.

Along with Brazilian centre-back Gabriel, the French defender has become a part of one of the best central defensive partnerships in world football.

The Gunners are edging closer to winning the league title but Pep Guardiola’s Man City side stand in their way.

Another Spanish giant, Barcelona, are interested in Gunners midfielder Thomas Partey and they are ready to offer the defensive midfielder a key role at the club.

Arteta and the North London club would now have to prove their substance in the league this season and in order to keep their best players and attract world class players at the club, they would have to make sure they win trophies and taste success.

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Good news for Arsenal, bad news for Liverpool as Real Madrid switch focus to €70m transfer

Mark Brus — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 08:20:55 +0000

There could reportedly be some good news for Arsenal but bad news for Liverpool as Real Madrid have switched their focus to Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni as a potential transfer target in defence.

Bastoni has shone for Inter and looks like he’d surely be a superb signing for a top club like Real Madrid, though he won’t come cheap as he’s linked with a possible move for as much as €70million or more in a report from Spanish outlet Todo Fichajes.

The Italy international has also been linked with Liverpool in recent times, as per the post on X below by journalist Francois Plateau, so it could be bad news for the Reds if a big name like Real get involved, as they have a history of getting the players they want…

??Liverpool have been tracking RB Leipzig’s Castello #Lukeba, Inter’s Alessandro #Bastoni, and Everton’s Jarrad #Branthwaite, and could make a last-minute bid for one if Joe #Gomez departs this week. The club won’t force Gomez, their longest-serving player, out — it’s up to the…

— François Plateau (@francoisplateau) August 27, 2024

For Arsenal, though, it could be a relief to see Madrid looking at Bastoni as it perhaps suggests they’re not too confident of signing William Saliba from the Gunners any time soon.

Saliba is a hugely important player for Arsenal and it’s easy to imagine him being a star name for an elite club like Real Madrid as well, though Mikel Arteta surely needs to keep the France international if he is to have any hope of finally catching Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Alessandro Bastoni in action for Inter Milan (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Alessandro Bastoni transfer: What does this mean for Real Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal?

Bastoni could be set to have plenty of offers if he decides to leave Inter, as one imagines other top clubs might also join the race for his signature if he’s available for a reasonable price.

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