Arsenal Afternoon Round-Up, Friday 9th October 2026: Arteta Delivers Injury Updates Ahead of Leeds as Alvarez and Merino Transfer Talk Continues

Mikel Arteta faced the media this afternoon to preview Saturday's home game against Leeds United, and injuries dominated the agenda. The Arsenal boss gave a five-player fitness update, confirming a blow for the squad as he looks ahead to the weekend fixture (Football.London) (Football.London) (Football.London).

Arsenal.com also published the club's own injury latest, with Havertz, Tzolis, Rice, Konsa and White all mentioned amongst those being assessed, while Arteta's full pre-Leeds press conference transcript was made available (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com). Football.London's own round-up echoed this, running through return dates for Rice, Konsa and Havertz specifically (Football.London). Looking ahead to the team itself, reports suggest an agreement has been reached involving Viktor Gyokeres as lineups are being considered, with Bruno Guimaraes said to have been left out (Football.London).

On the transfer front, Football.London reports that Arsenal have been handed an update on Julian Alvarez, with the Atletico Madrid forward having been linked with the club as a potential suitor in the summer, though it's claimed he was only ever interested in a move to Barcelona before that switch was blocked (Football.London).

Elsewhere, there's been reaction to transfer speculation surrounding Mikel Merino, with the midfielder's father responding after sections of the Spanish media called for him to join Real Madrid (Football.London).

This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.