Arsenal

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on whether he will be watching Liverpool v Manchester City on Sunday: "We can't control that we just have to focus on our game, try to win and then on Sunday it's a game that should be beautiful to watch for any supporter.

"I can't control it but I will enjoy watching two of the best teams in Europe. I will sit there with my kids and enjoy the match."

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on how they benefitted from a warm weather training camp in Dubai in January: "We had so many games and some defeats before that trip.

"We needed the trip to keep improving, keeping demanding of ourselves too. Everything clicked, we won and we were playing good.

"It was really good, it was the perfect timing for us. We enjoyed it and it was a great energy."

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale coming in to replace David Raya, who is ineligible to face his parent club: "He's fully prepared and desperate to play.

"On Saturday it will be a great day for him. He has been brilliant, really supportive and pushing every day in training. It's a joy to have two great goalkeepers in the team.

"One of the toughest things is to deal with players that don't get the gametime they deserve.

"We have an unbelievable group of players and try to support them. When they get the opportunity they want to contribute to the team in the best way possible."

• Arsenal have only lost one of their past 10 meetings with Brentford in all competitions (W7 D2), a 2-0 defeat in the Bees’ first ever Premier League game in August 2021.
• Brentford have won just once in nine visits to Arsenal in all competitions (D4 L4), a 2-0 league win in April 1938.
• Arsenal have won all seven of their Premier League matches in 2024, scoring 31 times and conceding just three. They are the first side in English top-flight history to have scored 30 or more goals in their first seven games in a year, with 29 the previous most by Sunderland in 1893 and the Gunners in 1931.
• Brentford have dropped a league-high 28 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season; it is the most since Southampton in 2021-22 (29), while only four sides have ever dropped 30 or more in a single campaign - Newcastle in 2004-05 (31), Chelsea in 1995-96 (33), Wimbledon in 1999-2000 (33) and Tottenham in 2007-08 (33).
• Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has three goals and two assists in his past three Premier League appearances, as many goals and assists as he had in his previous 32 league games combined (four goals, one assist).
• Brentford's Yoane Wissa is looking to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time. Six of his past eight goals in the competition have come in London derby matches, though Arsenal are the only London team he has faced but not scored against.

George Cummins, BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal are looking to the long term and are set to sign new contracts with defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White.

In November, when Tomiyasu was linked with a move to Bayern Munich, Mikel Arteta said he wanted the Japan full-back to stay because the defender is “loved” at Arsenal.

Arteta values his versatility with Tomiyasu capable of playing in any position across the back four.

Meanwhile, right-back Ben White should extend his stay at Emirates Stadium at some point in the next month. Questions were asked about the £50m price tag when the defender joined from Brighton in 2021 but he is now one of the first names on the team sheet.

Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Aaron Ramsdale have all signed new deals in the past year.

Along with sporting director Edu, Arteta is looking to the future and sees these players as a key part of Arsenal's.

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on team news: "Not much. We have got some players back last Monday. We have [Gabriel] Martinelli and Bukayo [Saka] with little issues but we hope they can be part of the squad."

Three of the managers we hear from today, Mauricio Pochettino, Sean Dyche and Chris Wilder find their clubs sitting in the bottom half.

Everton and Sheffield United are both in action on Saturday against Manchester United and Bournemouth respectively.

Chelsea have to wait until Monday for their encounter with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

Right, let's get back to the top end and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta...

We're expecting to hear from four Premier League managers today with another hugely important weekend of top-flight football on the horizon.

There is going to be plenty on focus on Sunday's clash between leaders Liverpool and second-placed Manchester City, but there are key fixtures at both ends of the standings.

Today, we hear from Chelsea's Mauricio Pochettino, Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, Everton's Sean Dyche and Sheffield United's Chris Wilder.

Here's a reminder of how the top half of the table looks going into this round of games.

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on how he plans to get the fanbase on side: "I can't do anything. I can only win games.

"After Wolves we played Aston Villa, City, Palace, Liverpool and Brentford and we didn't lose in 90 minutes, that's five games.

"But the expectation is the problem. When the expectation doesn't meet the reality.

"I believe in the club, the fans, the players and the project. Only the cirumtances have delayed our plans. You can manage things but when you suffer too many negative things like injury, it's not about the staff or the tactics.

"People won't understand. I explain every two or three days. I prefer to talk about football, why you play with five at the back or back four, three midfielders or two strikers, that is my passion but I have to come and explain this circumstance. It's like I have to justify why we are in this position.

"I would love to be in another position and just be able to talk about football. 100%."

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on Ben Chilwell's injury: "We need to wait [and see].

"He needs to see a specialist. I can't go in advance, hopefully it's not a big issue. I prefer to be cautious and wait."

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on youngsters possibly getting a chance on Monday: "Yesterday we had nine young kids from the academy [in training]. We know the academy players really well because between five and nine train with us every day.

"Maybe they have the possibility to be involved. We might have to use them in this circumstance. It's great for the academy and to try and build for the future so they can arrive to become part of the first team in the future."

On whether the senior squad is too young and lacking experience: "Maybe, yes. People that want to believe this, that's fine.

"All opinions are good. I explained at the start of the season what is going on, I try to be transparent. At the moment I'm not going to try and convince people. If you want to fight for things you must be consistent with a full squad.

"We can manage the circumstance. But we don't have the capacity to have players providing competition because of injuries.

"We are suffering negativity but we can't stop believing, we must keep believing and try to perform on Monday.

"I really believe we can succeed. We analyse all the circumstances and here we are. We got to a final and we fully deserved after 90 minute to win the game.

"We can believe that we can start to win games to get close to qualifying for Europe. The opportunity is there but if you give up belief we will go down [the league]."

Chelsea

Chelsea have announced pre-tax losses of £90.1million in the 12 months up to June 2023, their first full year under the ownership of Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium.

The figure, an improvement on the previous years' loss of £121.4m, was also listed in the accounts filed for holding company Blueco, via which Boehly purchased the club from former owner Roman Abramovich in May 2022.

Blueco itself, which also owns French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, recorded losses of £653m from its founding in March 2022 up to June 2023.

Chelsea's turnover is up from £481.3m in 2021/22 to £512.5m, thanks in part to player sales as the club has offloaded a substantial number of its more experienced squad members since Clearlake took ownership.

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on facing Newcastle: "The important thing is to focus on ourselves, on our performance and how we are going to deal with injuries.

"We need to find a different solution again to deal with injuries. We need to see if Marc Cucurella arrives in a good condition. We've focused on the last few days in trying to find the right balance to ensure we can perform in the right way.

"We know Newcastle and can assess them but it's about finding the balance in our team to be consistent."

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are keen to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. The 21-year-old Spain forward has a release clause that could mean he is available for £43m this summer. (Telegraph - subscription, external)

Spain defender Marc Cucurella, 25, is expected to be one of several big names sold by Chelsea this summer. (Football Insider, external)

BBC Sport has a dedicated Chelsea page packed with news, analysis and fan views - get it here

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on fans feeling frustrated: "We need to try and improve in the way that we play.

"Of course, we need our fans. We hope the fans will be behind us on Monday to help us win the game. That is so important for our players.

"We need to accept the frustration. Maybe if I was a fan I'd be the same because we are not matching the expectation. We must be responsible of our performance and try hard to improve."

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on team news: "The same situation as last week.

"For Saturday, Gallagher is not training because he has a virus.

"He [Gallagher] is not here. We will see if he can train tomorrow or Saturday but the problem is you have to wait with this situation. We don't know what level he will be at when he recovers. We'll have to assess him."

Alex Howell
BBC Sport

Before each press conference Chelsea release a list of their latest injuries and where the players are with their rehabilitation.

Worryingly for Chelsea fans, Levi Colwill and Ben Chilwell have been added to the list with Chilwell 'undergoing specialist medical assessment'. Both players played in the draw with Brentford on Saturday.

Pochettino will be able to give more detail about how long they will be out for.

Chelsea

We will be hearing from Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino soon, but here's some team news before that.

Midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka will return to team training, while defender Benoit Badiashile will join partial team training for his 'reconditioning phase'.

Conor Gallagher is absent due to illness and Ben Chilwell is undergoing specialist medical assessment. Levi Colwill has begun his rehabilitation programme.

Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu are continuing their rehabilitation programmes,

Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid deserved criticism from their fans during a 1-1 draw at home to RB Leipzig that secured a 2-1 aggregate win and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.