Arsenal Round-Up, Saturday 24th October: Konsa and Gabriel Sink Everton as Gunners Go Level with Man City
Big day at the Emirates as Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 in a rain-soaked Premier League clash, with Ezri Konsa netting his first goal for the club and Gabriel Magalhaes also on target to seal the points (Sky Sports) (The Guardian) (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport). The result moves Arteta's side level on points with leaders Manchester City, who were beaten at Aston Villa, and the Guardian called it a precious, clinical win for the champions (BBC Sport) (Sky Sports) (The Guardian). Mikel Arteta made five changes for the match, including Eze coming into the side, and was left "delighted" with the performance after what he called a tough week (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com) (BBC Sport) (Football.London). Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson felt it was a comfortable afternoon for the Gunners, while Jamie O'Hara had earlier taken aim at Arteta's side, branding them "unbearable" and the worst champions to watch (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports).
It wasn't all good news on the injury front. Bukayo Saka is confirmed to be missing through a thigh/quad problem sustained in the Champions League draw at Bayern Munich, with Arteta warning he could be out for at least a month and potentially as many as twelve matches (Football.London) (Football.London) (Football.London). Riccardo Calafiori was left out of the starting line-up with what Arteta described as a "slight issue" and was only introduced from the bench, while Football.London also reported a fresh injury concern for another key player who appeared to go down in the closing stages against Everton (Evening Standard) (Football.London) (Football.London). Arteta also used his press conference to address a separate matter, revealing he has been keeping a "dossier" on other Premier League managers who stray from their technical area during games (Football.London) (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport).
In the player ratings, Gabriel Magalhaes was singled out for a "warrior" display and one of the standout scores of the afternoon, with a team-mate also picking up an 8.5, while the Evening Standard handed out two 8/10s and declared a "colossal" defensive display worth a 9/10 (Evening Standard) (Football.London). Ben White also reached a landmark, making his 200th appearance for Arsenal (Arsenal.com). Elsewhere, the club paid tribute to life president Ken Friar OBE, who recently passed away, with players having worn black armbands in his memory during the recent Champions League trip (Evening Standard).
On the transfer front, Mikel Arteta moved to clarify David Raya's situation after the goalkeeper's interview with Marca in which he spoke of a desire to one day play in Spain (Football.London). TeamTalk reported a claim from Gabriel Agbonlahor that Arsenal will "100%" sell Viktor Gyokeres next summer (TeamTalk). Football.London also linked Arsenal with a young talent being described as a Cristiano Ronaldo-style prospect, as well as reporting a development in the club's search for an alternative to Julian Alvarez following their failed move for the Argentine (Football.London) (Football.London). The Evening Standard's transfer live blog mentioned Arsenal receiving a boost in their reported interest in Kroupi (Evening Standard), while TeamTalk also claimed Eberechi Eze has reached a decision on his Arsenal future following reports of a demotion in the squad pecking order (TeamTalk).
Looking ahead, attention also turns to the north London derby, with BBC Sport previewing how the match against Tottenham could go a long way to defining both clubs' seasons (BBC Sport), and the Guardian and Football.London both previewed the Everton game with team news and viewing details (Football.London) (The Guardian).
The women's team also had cause for celebration, coming from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 away in the WSL north London derby, with Alessia Russo scoring the winner from a penalty to end a five-match winless run and ease pressure on head coach Renée Slegers (Sky Sports) (Arsenal.com) (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport). The penalty award proved controversial, with former England players discussing the decision afterwards, and Spurs boss Martin Ho saying WSL referees need "more support and training" (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport). Renée Slegers praised her side's character, saying "we had some warrior performances" after the derby win (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.