Arsenal Round-Up, Thursday 5th November: Gyokeres Stars as Gunners Survive Late Slavia Prague Scare
Arsenal made it three wins from four in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory away at Slavia Prague, goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres doing the damage before the hosts fought back late on at the Fortuna Arena (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport). The Guardian noted it was another away day and another win for the Gunners, with Gyokeres the standout performer despite Slavia matching one of the longest winless runs in European Cup and Champions League history (The Guardian). Football.London's player ratings also pointed to Gyokeres shining among three 8/10 performers on the night (Football.London).
It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Mikel Arteta was far from happy with how his side handled the second half, admitting afterwards that Arsenal fell well short of their 'normal standard' once Slavia came storming back (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport). Speaking in his post-match press duties, Arteta reflected on a game of two very different halves and didn't hold back on where things went wrong after the break (Football.London) (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com). Despite the wobble, he did have praise for Gyokeres, saying the Swede 'really needed' a big performance and got exactly that (ESPN). The goalscorer himself said he was feeling good after his display, while the result keeps Arsenal unbeaten so far in this season's competition (Arsenal.com).
On the injury front, there was a mixed bag. Ezri Konsa remains a concern after the Slavia trip, with Arteta giving an update on his fitness, while there's better news elsewhere as Saliba and Saka are both nearing returns (Evening Standard) (Football.London). The Evening Standard reports Saliba could even be in contention for minutes against Hull this weekend after missing the whole campaign so far (Evening Standard). Elsewhere, Declan Rice continues to feature heavily despite ongoing fitness fears being raised after the Slavia win, a situation Football.London flagged as one to watch (Football.London). There was happier team news too, with Konsa and Rice both nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award, and fans being encouraged to back Arteta for the Manager of the Month gong (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com).
Looking ahead, nine players in total are set to be unavailable across both sides when Hull City visit for the Premier League clash this weekend, with two players suspended (Football.London). Arsenal.com has the full details on how to watch the match live (Arsenal.com), while Sky Sports dug out the story of Hull's infamous first-ever Emirates visit when Geovanni's strike stunned the Gunners (Sky Sports).
On the transfer front, reports continue to link Arsenal with Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier, though TeamTalk claims Manchester United could move for a different Bournemouth target as competition heats up (TeamTalk). Elsewhere, Football.London reports that Piero Hincapie has opened transfer talks, with suggestions Arteta could look at reshaping his squad (Football.London). TeamTalk also claims William Saliba remains of interest to Real Madrid despite not playing a single minute yet this season (TeamTalk).
Away from the pitch, Arsenal have released their Love Actually-inspired Christmas advert featuring Colin Firth alongside Gabriel, Calafiori and Russo, with a behind-the-scenes gallery also published on the club's official site (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com) (Sky Sports). David Raya reflected on last season's Champions League final heartbreak against Paris Saint-Germain, saying the pain of that penalty shootout defeat is still 'in our veins' and is driving the squad to go one better this time (The Guardian). Finally, Arsenal.com marked Martin Odegaard's 250th appearance for the club with a look at the numbers behind the milestone (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.
