Arsenal Round-Up, Friday 16th October: Arteta Addresses Saliba Photo Snub, Job Cuts and Injury Boost Ahead of Forest Clash
Mikel Arteta held his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday's trip to Nottingham Forest, covering a host of topics including injuries, the club's job cuts and the William Saliba team photo situation (Football.London) (Football.London) (Arsenal.com).
The boss confirmed a triple injury boost for the Forest trip, with positive updates given on four players as Arsenal continue their recovery from a congested fixture list (Football.London). Arsenal.com also provided the latest specific injury news on Zubimendi, Hincapie, Tzolis and Saliba (Arsenal.com). On the pitch, Arteta was upbeat about his side's attacking performances, saying "we're showing great attacking flow" (Arsenal.com).
The William Saliba photo saga continued to generate headlines. Arsenal confirmed they will take a new team photograph including the defender after his surprise absence from the one published earlier this week, Arteta told Sky Sports (Sky Sports). Football.London report that Arteta responded directly to claims of Saliba "unhappiness" following the squad photo snub (Football.London), while the club also released a statement on the matter as reported by Football.London (Football.London).
Elsewhere, Arteta was pressed on Arsenal's decision to cut up to 60 jobs as part of a cost-cutting review. The Guardian report that he defended the move as necessary to help the club "evolve and create success" (The Guardian), while BBC Sport note he said he had been told the cuts were made to "achieve the success we want to create" (BBC Sport). However, when pushed further on the matter, Arteta said "I'm not the right person to answer that" (BBC Sport).
Ahead of the weekend's action, Sky Sports report that Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White is a doubt to face Arsenal (Sky Sports), while the Guardian's round-up of things to look out for this weekend flags Forest as a potential threat to Arsenal (The Guardian).
On the transfer front, ESPN report that Arsenal are interested in a January move for Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-Jae (ESPN), with TeamTalk adding that the player has reportedly reached a "verdict" on a potential £34m move to Arsenal following a Gunners injury blow (TeamTalk). Separately, TeamTalk report Arsenal have been tipped to move for Erling Haaland in January should Manchester City receive one of two extreme punishments linked to FFP matters (TeamTalk). Football.London also mention a fresh transfer target has been "identified" by Arsenal amid the Saliba statement news (Football.London).
Away from the pitch, Mikel Merino has spoken movingly about surviving the 2017 Borussia Dortmund team bus attack, telling the Evening Standard he feels "lucky to be alive" (Evening Standard), with BBC Sport carrying further reflections from the midfielder on the incident (BBC Sport). ESPN's piece on the same attack also touched on Merino revealing when he believed Arsenal would win the Premier League, during conversations following last season's draw with Wolves (ESPN).
In academy news, Arsenal's under-19s were beaten 2-3 by LOSC Lille, with highlights available on Arsenal.com (Arsenal.com), and both Jack Horseman and a club report expressed disappointment with the display, while focus turns to recovering form after the defeat (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com). On the women's side, Smilla Holmberg has been nominated for the 2026 Golden Girl award (Arsenal.com), and Arsenal.com gave fans a look inside training as the WSL side prepare for their return to league action (Arsenal.com).
Finally, for those wanting to revisit recent first-team action, Arsenal.com have published a full replay of the Lille match (Arsenal.com), as well as a nostalgic clip of Limpar's late brace in the famous 1990/91 win over Coventry (Arsenal.com).
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.