Arsenal Week in Review, Monday 19th October: Arsenal Make It 12 Wins in a Row as Madueke Sinks Forest, but Injuries and Job Cuts Dominate Talk
It has been a hugely busy week for Arsenal, with results continuing to go Mikel Arteta's way even as off-field matters generated plenty of headlines. Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 at the Emirates in the Champions League thanks to a seven-minute blitz after a laboured first hour, with Jurrien Timber and substitute Bukayo Saka among the standout performers according to the Guardian (Evening Standard) (Evening Standard) (The Guardian). Football.London noted Arteta had a quiet word with one player and spotted an emotional moment from Gabriel during the win (Football.London), while Eberechi Eze said afterwards that it is "a fun team to play in" and warned team-mates that "if you don't want to play you're not in the right place" (Arsenal.com) (ESPN). The win made it two from two in this season's Champions League group phase and continued an extended unbeaten run, with the Guardian putting the sequence at twelve wins in a row (The Guardian).
Arsenal then travelled to Nottingham Forest and ground out a 1-0 Premier League win, with substitute Noni Madueke scoring the only goal to move them closer to leaders Manchester City (Evening Standard) (The Guardian) (Football.London). BBC Sport praised the "anger and conviction" Madueke showed in making the breakthrough (BBC Sport), while TeamTalk reported that the Arsenal summer signing's display split fan opinion, drawing both "liability" and "silent star" reactions (TeamTalk). Arteta explained that he withdrew Eberechi Eze at half-time after what he called an "extremely difficult" test for the team, who managed just one shot on target for long periods (Evening Standard) (Football.London).
Injuries remain a concern. Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi both picked up ankle problems in a warm-down session after the win over Leeds, with Arteta defending the club's training methods despite the freak nature of the incident (Evening Standard) (The Guardian) (Football.London). The Guardian added that William Saliba has at least resumed training alone following a back injury, offering a boost (The Guardian), though talkSPORT reported Saliba was also a notable absentee from Arsenal's 2026/27 squad photo, with the club reportedly planning a re-take (talkSPORT) (talkSPORT). On the women's side, BBC Sport reported that Mariona Caldentey is set to miss around ten weeks of Women's Super League action because of a hamstring injury (BBC Sport).
Off the pitch, Arsenal confirmed plans to cut 60 jobs from the workforce, a decision Arteta defended as being made "with the intention to evolve and to improve" (BBC Sport) (Evening Standard). He said he had been told the move was designed to "achieve the success we want to create" (BBC Sport). The club and football world also paid tribute to Life President Ken Friar, who died aged 92; Arsenal's players wore black armbands against Lille in his memory, and Arsenal.com carried tributes describing his extraordinary legacy and lifelong association with the club (talkSPORT) (Evening Standard) (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com).
On the transfer front, football.london reported rivals dropping out of the chase for Julian Álvarez amid a reported £127m battle, while TeamTalk noted Spanish media fear Barcelona could again stand in Arsenal's way for the striker (Football.London) (TeamTalk). TeamTalk also reported Arsenal entering the race for Bayern Munich's Michael Olise in a deal said to be worth £169m, competing with Liverpool (TeamTalk), while football.london added that Olise's suspension for a Bayern Munich tie could be a boost for Arsenal's upcoming Champions League meeting with the German side (Football.London). Elsewhere, TeamTalk reported interest alongside Liverpool in Brentford's Kevin Schade (TeamTalk), and relayed exclusive claims that Viktor Gyökeres wants a January exit due to frustration over his lack of Premier League starts (TeamTalk) (ESPN) (Football.London), though a former Gunner defended him to football.london as a player who does not get enough credit (Football.London). talkSPORT and TeamTalk also carried speculation about a possible move for Erling Haaland in January (talkSPORT) (TeamTalk).
Finally, Arsenal's youngster Max Dowman continues to catch the eye, with Arteta backing him to live up to a prediction reportedly made by Lionel Messi, while BBC Sport said the teenager is edging closer to regular first-team football (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport). Arteta also said he is a "big believer" that Kai Havertz can become a 30-goal-a-season striker (ESPN). In the build-up to Lille, Olivier Giroud spoke about the reasoning behind his Arsenal exit back in 2018 ahead of his return to north London (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.