Arsenal Week in Review, Monday 9th November: Arsenal Go Six Points Clear with Wins Over Liverpool, Slavia Prague and Hull
What a week for Mikel Arteta's side. Arsenal went to Anfield and beat Liverpool 1-0, with the Evening Standard and Arsenal.com both dissecting how the win was secured and what it means for the title race (Arsenal.com) (Evening Standard). The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson argued Arsenal now have everything needed to retain the Premier League, pointing to a deeper, more experienced squad facing weaker rivals than last season (The Guardian), while Football.London noted Andoni Iraola had been discussing a conversation with Arteta as confidence builds ahead of the Champions League trip to Slavia Prague (Football.London). Arsenal then made it three wins from four in the Champions League group phase, beating Slavia Prague 2-1 in Czechia thanks to goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres, despite a nervy finish as the hosts fought back (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport). Arteta made six changes for that game, with William Saliba travelling with the squad after returning from injury but being handled carefully, and Max Dowman also involved in the selection calls (Football.London). Arteta himself admitted his side were "extremely far from our standards" in the second half in Prague even though the win was secured (BBC Sport), and reflected afterwards on the contrast between the two halves (Arsenal.com). Gyokeres was praised for a big performance, with Arteta saying the striker "really needed" a good display after a difficult spell (ESPN), and the Evening Standard suggesting the game showed how he could force a rethink from Arteta (Evening Standard).
Back in the Premier League, Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0 at the Emirates to stretch their lead at the top, a result that left Manchester City six points behind after City were beaten 3-1 by Nottingham Forest (Evening Standard) (Football.London). Bruno Guimaraes, speaking after the Hull game, said "unbelievable" Arsenal were showing they can keep up the title pace (ESPN), while pundits including Jamie Redknapp debated whether anyone can realistically challenge Arsenal from here, with Redknapp suggesting Brighton may be more likely contenders than City (Sky Sports). The win over Hull was overshadowed by VAR controversy, with Arsenal denied what several pundits and former officials - including Martin Keown, Mike Dean and Darren Cann - all agreed should have been a penalty for a foul on Kai Havertz (talkSPORT) (Sky Sports) (Football.London) (BBC Sport). Arteta addressed the incident along with Declan Rice's substitution in his post-match press conference (Football.London). Odegaard caught the eye in the player ratings for the Hull win, with Arsenal.com separately running the numbers behind Odegaard reaching 250 Arsenal appearances (Arsenal.com) (BBC Sport).
William Saliba's return from injury was a major theme, with Sky Sports capturing his first training session back with the first team and Football.London describing the selection dilemma his return now poses for Arteta (Sky Sports) (Football.London) (Evening Standard). Ben White's recall to the England squad was also welcomed by Arteta, who said the defender "looked really happy" and had earned his call-up (Sky Sports), while Max Dowman received an England age-group promotion to join up with fellow Arsenal players on international duty (Football.London). David Raya spoke about the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain still driving the squad, saying the pain is "in our veins" and that making it right this season is "on us" (The Guardian).
On the transfer front, plenty of reports swirled but little was confirmed. Evening Standard covered midfielder Victor Ozhianvuna's emotional farewell to Shamrock Rovers ahead of his move to Arsenal once he turns 18 in January (Evening Standard). Other outlets linked Arsenal with Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi (BBC Sport), RB Leipzig's Antonio Nusa (Football.London), Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier (TeamTalk), and a low-cost striker reportedly attracting attention for his goal return (Football.London), while Barcelona were said to be eyeing Arsenal defenders as part of their own January centre-back plans (TeamTalk), and Chelsea were reported to be watching Myles Lewis-Skelly among other midfielders (TeamTalk). These all remain speculation at this stage rather than confirmed business (BBC Sport) (Evening Standard) (TeamTalk) (Football.London).
In the women's game, Renee Slegers' Arsenal Women won 2-1 away at Liverpool in the WSL, with Alessia Russo's double securing the points at Anfield (Arsenal.com) (Sky Sports). That followed a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa the previous week, highlights of which were shown on Arsenal.com (Arsenal.com). Slegers spoke about every moment being "defining" for her squad as the season develops (Arsenal.com).
Elsewhere, Arsenal's academy sides were in action, with the U18s beating Sunderland 3-0 to reach the cup knockout stages, Abi Chipperfield featured as the club's latest Young Gun, and the U21s prepared to face Aston Villa (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.
