Arsenal Round-Up, Monday 26th October: Saliba's Ballon D'Or Ranking Splits Opinion as Gunners Prepare for Fleetwood Trip
Arsenal fans have been reacting after William Saliba's Ballon d'Or 2026 ranking was revealed, with the defender finishing 29th despite making the 30-man shortlist alongside two other Gunners (Evening Standard) (Football.London). The reaction from supporters has been one of frustration, with some calling the ranking an "embarrassment" given Saliba's season (Evening Standard). The ceremony itself took place in London on Monday, with Arsenal's title-winning stars and Harry Kane among those nominated, and Mikel Arteta also up for an award on the night (Football.London).
Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton continues to provide plenty of talking points. Ben White, who assisted Gabriel Magalhaes during the victory, has been reflecting on his recent injury troubles and says he now has his sights set on a return to the England set-up after a strong start to the campaign (Football.London). Elsewhere, Gabriel himself reached a notable milestone by making his 200th Premier League appearance during the win (Arsenal.com). There was also a lighter moment from the game, with Arteta being booked on the touchline - something that has prompted suggestions from talkSPORT's Jeff Stelling that technical areas should be scrapped altogether, a change that would apparently go down well with the Arsenal boss (talkSPORT).
Attention now turns to the Carabao Cup, with Arsenal heading to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday for their fourth-round tie (Football.London) (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport). Arteta is expected to make wholesale changes to his starting eleven, with reports suggesting as many as eight alterations along with an agreement reached involving young wonderkid Max Dowman (Football.London). Noni Madueke has become an increasingly important attacking option with Bukayo Saka currently out injured, and there is a fresh fitness concern over Saka that has emerged as Arsenal ramp up preparations for the trip north (Football.London). Viktor Gyokeres is also still searching for his first Arsenal goal of the season (Evening Standard). Arteta has further bolstered his squad by calling up six more Hale End academy prospects for training ahead of the match, though two bigger names have missed out (Football.London). Fleetwood themselves have said they will respect their Premier League opponents without fearing them (BBC Sport).
On the subject of Arsenal's exciting academy talent, Max Dowman has been told he must overcome a clear obstacle if he's to fulfil his dream of featuring at a major tournament by 2028, according to Football.London (Football.London).
Away from Arsenal directly, talkSPORT have highlighted former Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson's fine form since his move to Aston Villa, rating him among the Premier League's top three strikers after a strong run of scoring form (talkSPORT). Meanwhile, transfer gossip continues to swirl, with reports suggesting Arsenal have an interest in a Bayern Munich player as part of the latest round of transfer news doing the rounds (Evening Standard).
In the women's game, Arsenal Women are preparing to host Benfica, with details on how to watch the fixture now available (Arsenal.com). It follows their north London derby win over Tottenham, which BBC Sport's Women's Football Weekly suggests has relieved some pressure on the side as they look to kick on (Arsenal.com) (BBC Sport).
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.