Arsenal news

GOAL US unpacks the main weekend storylines from the Premier League, La Liga and other top competitions in The Euro XI

Arsenal have been dealt a fitness setback ahead of their Champions League clash against Slavia Prague as Viktor Gyokeres missed training following his early withdrawal against Burnley. The £55m striker, who scored in that game before coming off at half-time, was nowhere to be seen as Mikel Arteta’s side prepared for Tuesday’s trip to the Fortuna Arena.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to Arsenal after eight years and has been spotted training with the club's Under-21 side. Oxlade-Chamberlain left the Gunners in 2017 to join Premier League rivals Liverpool, where he spent six years before heading to Besiktas in Turkey. This summer, the versatile midfielder mutually terminated his contract to become a free agent.

Arsenal are determined to hand star winger Bukayo Saka a new contract, with the England international set for a massive pay hike. After tying down William Saliba to a long-term deal, the Gunners have now shifted their focus to Saka and want to wrap up contract talks as early as possible amid fears that the wide man could draw transfer interest in the future.

William Saliba remains fully committed to the Arsenal cause for now, having signed a new long-term contract, but he has admitted that any interest shown from Real Madrid will always be “tempting”. That admission will concern some in north London, with there no guarantees that the highly-rated France international defender will see out his fresh terms at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal and Manchester City have both dispatched scouts to monitor Feyenoord's 19-year-old right-back Givairo Read, according to reports. However, they face a "very complicated" transfer battle, as Bayern Munich are also in pursuit and have reportedly already held initial talks for the highly-rated Dutch prodigy ahead of the January window.

Fabio Vieira’s spell at Hamburg has gone from bad to worse after the Arsenal loanee was sent off for the second time in just five Bundesliga games. The 25-year-old midfielder, who joined the German club on a season-long loan in the summer, lost his cool during a 4-1 defeat to Koln, receiving a second yellow card late on as HSV slumped to their fourth loss of the season.

David Raya has credited former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze for Arsenal’s remarkable defensive form this season. The Argentine joined Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff in the summer and is said to have brought intensity and resilience to the Gunners’ back line, who have now kept seven consecutive clean sheets and sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Manchester United legend and pundit Gary Neville named the 'only team' that can challenge favourites Arsenal for the Premier League title this year as he has ruled Pep Guardiola's Manchester City out of the title race. The Gunners have won eight out of their first 10 league matches and are safely placed at the top of the Premier League table, seven points ahead of second-placed Bournemouth.

Midfielder Declan Rice has revealed he pointed to the sky as he celebrated his goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Burnley in honour of his late auntie. The England international paid a beautiful tribute after scoring in a Premier League win over Scott Parker’s Clarets which saw Mikel Arteta’s in-form side move seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has backed Arsenal to end their 22-year wait for a Premier League title this season, claiming that he cannot see a weakness within Mikel Arteta's side after the Gunners extended their lead at the top with victory at Burnley. Their ninth successive victory and seventh successive clean sheet in all competitions has only furthered the belief amongst many that this is the best chance Arsenal have had to end their hunt for title glory.

Patrick Vieira’s turbulent tenure at Genoa has come to an end as the Serie A club announced that the Arsenal legend has left his role as head coach with immediate effect. The decision comes amid a disastrous start to the campaign as Genoa find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Italian top flight and staring down the relegation barrel.

Another game, another set-piece goal and another win for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta's leaders extended their advantage at the top of the Premier League table to seven points with a 2-0 success at Burnley on Saturday. It was another dominant afternoon for the Gunners, who had already seen Bukayo Saka waste a golden opportunity by the time they went in front on 14 minutes through Viktor Gyokeres' close-range finish from Declan Rice's corner.