Arsenal Round-Up, Thursday 29th October: Russo Hat-Trick Sinks Benfica as Dowman Ban Confirmed Ahead of Liverpool Trip
It was a brilliant night in Europe for Arsenal Women, with Alessia Russo helping herself to a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Benfica in the Women's Champions League, a performance that saw her become England's all-time leading scorer in the competition (BBC Sport). Manager Renee praised a "fantastic" display from her striker after the game (Arsenal.com), while Russo herself was quick to thank boss Slegers and the travelling supporters for their backing after her treble (Arsenal.com). Fans can catch up on all the action with the match highlights and a 33-photo gallery from the win on Arsenal.com (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com). Attention for the women's side now turns to Aston Villa, with Arsenal.com putting out viewing details and a full preview of that upcoming fixture (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com), and the WSL have also confirmed December's fixture schedule (Arsenal.com).
On the discipline front, it's bad news for young winger Max Dowman. His appeal against the red card shown in Tuesday's Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood Town has been rejected by an independent commission, meaning he will now serve a three-match ban (Evening Standard) (ESPN) (Sky Sports) (Football.London) (BBC Sport) (The Guardian). Arsenal.com have issued their own club update on the situation (Arsenal.com).
The build-up to Sunday's huge Premier League clash at Anfield is well under way. Arsenal go into the game level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table, and talkSPORT note that Andy Madley has been given the referee's whistle, which Football.London point out is his first big-six Premier League assignment in two-and-a-half years (talkSPORT) (Football.London). Arsenal.com have published viewing details for those wanting to watch (Arsenal.com). Captain Martin Odegaard has been sending a rallying message to the dressing room following the disappointing Fleetwood cup exit, looking to refocus the squad for the trip to Merseyside (Football.London). Thierry Henry has also been giving his verdict on a couple of Arsenal's attacking options, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, ahead of the game (Football.London). Football.London suggest Arteta could make wholesale changes to his starting eleven, with wholesale alterations possible involving the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz (Football.London), while Sky Sports ask whether Arteta should keep his faith in Havertz up front (Sky Sports). Elsewhere, Football.London have been assessing the goalkeeping and defensive injury situation involving Calafiori, Declan Rice and Madueke (Football.London), and separately note that three players are already guaranteed absentees with four more fitness doubts for Arteta to weigh up (Football.London). More broadly, the same outlet lists six injury-related questions facing Arteta before the weekend (Football.London), and the Evening Standard argue that Bukayo Saka has become the biggest victim of the club's past transfer business as fresh injury concerns continue to bite (Evening Standard). On a lighter note, Arteta has reportedly been gathering footage of rival Premier League managers straying from their technical areas, according to Football.London (Football.London).
On the transfer front, there's plenty of smoke but no fire just yet. TeamTalk report Bournemouth have reached a decision over selling forward Eli Junior Kroupi, with Arsenal and Manchester United both credited with interest following his return from injury (TeamTalk) (Evening Standard). The same outlet claims Arsenal are keen on Atletico Madrid's Alex Baena, with word on how the La Liga club view a potential January sale (TeamTalk), while Arsenal and Tottenham are also said to be stepping up interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza, a player now also attracting Paris Saint-Germain (TeamTalk). TeamTalk further report that Liverpool and Barcelona are also chasing Galatasaray's Aleksey Batrakov, with Arsenal mentioned as facing competition in that race too (TeamTalk). Football.London carry a transfer verdict on Viktor Gyokeres amid reported PSG interest (Football.London), and separately report that Arsenal are said to be leading the race for Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz should the Italian club be forced into a sale (Football.London).
Away from the pitch, there's a good deal of content for fans to enjoy: Arsenal.com have a feature on academy prospect Theo Odaji-Ukueku (Arsenal.com), a nostalgic chat with Robert Pires about Arsene Wenger, doubles and the Invincibles (Arsenal.com), a look back at a famous 1992/93 win at Anfield (Arsenal.com), and a new episode of the Ultimate Gooner series (Arsenal.com). David Raya has also been reacting to fan questions from Reddit (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com), Rudimental are set to play a DJ set ahead of the London City game (Arsenal.com), and Arsenal have teamed up with Oakley Meta to present a new feature called We Go Again (Arsenal.com). The Guardian are also inviting fans to send in questions for former Gunner Charlie Nicholas (The Guardian), and there's a fun Anfield-themed quiz on Arsenal.com testing fans on the line-up from the club's 2012 win there (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.