Arsenal Round-Up, Friday 6th November: Saliba Could Make Season Debut Against Hull as England Squad News Dominates
Mikel Arteta used his pre-Hull City press conference to cover plenty of ground, and the headline news is that William Saliba is in contention to finally get his first minutes of the season when the Gunners host Hull at the Emirates on Saturday, having been out all campaign with a back injury (Evening Standard) (Football.London) (Football.London). Arteta also gave an update on Ezri Konsa and Bukayo Saka, with Saka set to be out for "weeks" after going down with a quad issue in the Champions League draw (talkSPORT) (Football.London) (Football.London) (Arsenal.com). Saka's absence means Noni Madueke has stepped in and enjoyed the best run of form of his Arsenal career, with four goal involvements in that spell (Evening Standard). Football.London also listed the players expected to be missing for the Hull clash as Arteta weighs up changes to his side, including the Saliba decision, with the club currently sitting three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table (Football.London) (Football.London).
On the international front, five Arsenal players have been called up to Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, with Arsenal.com celebrating the news (Football.London) (Arsenal.com). Arteta praised Declan Rice's "desperate" determination to keep improving after his inclusion (ESPN), and spoke warmly of Ben White's recall too, saying the defender "looked really happy" and that "he's earned it" (Sky Sports). Not everyone made the cut, though, as Madueke was left out despite his strong recent form, with Tuchel explaining the reasoning behind the snub and Arteta giving his own reaction to the decision (Evening Standard) (Evening Standard) (Sky Sports). Saliba, meanwhile, has not been included in Zidane's first France squad as he continues his recovery from the back injury suffered at the World Cup, though Arteta insists the club would have no issue with him being called up once he's fit (Evening Standard) (Evening Standard) (Football.London). Elsewhere, young Gunner Max Dowman has earned an England call-up of his own, joining up with some of his senior Arsenal teammates for the first time, and received a further boost in his development despite having picked up two red cards along the way (Evening Standard) (Football.London).
On the transfer front, there's plenty of smoke around the Emirates as usual. Arsenal are said to be keeping tabs on Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi (BBC Sport), while ESPN reports the club are also tracking RB Leipzig winger Antonio Nusa for the January window (ESPN). TeamTalk claims Arsenal have been warned over the reasoning not to sell Viktor Gyokeres in January despite suggestions he isn't suited to Arteta's style of play (TeamTalk), while another TeamTalk piece reports Arsenal have been told a fee of around £33-42m would be needed to land a red-hot Portuguese forward also wanted by Tottenham (TeamTalk). There are further reports linking the club with a Newcastle star the Magpies could be open to selling in a reported world-record deal, albeit on one condition (TeamTalk), as well as reported interest in a low-cost striker enjoying a prolific season in Europe (Football.London) and a Brazilian talent likened to Julian Alvarez (Football.London). Fabrizio Romano has also weighed in on claims of a possible defensive swap deal between Arsenal and Barcelona in January (TeamTalk).
Away from the pitch, Arsenal's women's side have a reason to celebrate after Smith's goal was nominated for the WSL Goal of the Month (Arsenal.com), while Emily Fox took part in a Reddit AMA to answer fan questions (Arsenal.com). Christos Tzolis has also been speaking about settling into life in London, revealing which teammate has helped him most and reflecting on his eye-catching start against Liverpool at Anfield (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.
