Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking ahead of the Premier League game against Fulham tomorrow: "Bukayo Saka is ready to go.

"All the careful things are already done. Now it's about putting him in the grass at the right moment. But he's pushing because he really wants to.

"We have respected the timeline and we have done everything. He is ready to go."

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"Bukayo is ready to go," announces Mikel Arteta.

Bukayo Saka could return for Arsenal tomorrow against Fulham after three months out injured.

The Arsenal manager will be speaking shortly. Here's what we expect he'll be discussing today:

• The arrival of new sporting director Andrea Berta
• Team news before their game with Fulham, including the latest on Bukayo Saka who was back in training last week
• Arsenal's title credentials with a huge gap to bridge to leaders Liverpool
• And maybe the prospect of taking his side to Hong Kong to face north London rivals Spurs

Arsenal

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It's not just the Premier League title that Mikel Arteta's side are after this season.

They are also alive in the Champions League, but face a tough challenge against Spanish giants Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

After Premier League games against Fulham and Everton, the Gunners - who beat PSV 9-3 on aggregate in the last 16 - will face the 15-time European champions in the first leg at Emirates Stadium on 8 April.

The return leg in Madrid will take place on 16 April, with the winner set to face one of Paris St-Germain or Aston Villa.

Arsenal

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A bunch of Arsenal players made a mark for their countries during the international break - none more so than 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who scored on his debut as England beat Albania 2-0 at Wembley.

Declan Rice also started the game for Thomas Tuchel's side and grabbed the assist for the second goal.

Mikel Merino, who scored the winner against Chelsea, was again on target in Spain's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in the first leg before scoring in the penalty shootout to send his side through to the Nations League semi-finals.

Gunners captain Martin Odegaard provided an assist in Norway's 5-0 win over Moldova and followed it up with a hat-trick of assists in the 4-2 defeat of Israel in the World Cup qualifiers.

Defender Riccardo Calafiori, however, picked up a knock in Italy's 2-1 defeat to Germany in the first leg and missed the return fixture in Dortmund.

Arsenal

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One of the strikers Arsenal have been linked with is Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres.

With Andrea Berta, reportedly a long-time admirer of Gyokeres, now at the helm, the Gunners fans will be hopeful of their club striking a deal with the Portuguese side for the services of the prolific striker.

Gyokeres, 26, scored twice in Sporting's win against Estrela Amadora on Saturday to take his tally to 30 goals in 26 league appearances this season.

The Sweden international has also scored six goals in the Champions League this season - hinting he could be the one to solve Arsenal's striker crisis.

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter

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The main and most obvious task for Andrea Berta is to ensure that Arsenal bring in a much-needed forward. The Gunners have suffered injuries to key attackers this season and have not brought in a forward for two transfer windows in a row.

RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko has long been monitored, while Newcastle's Alexander Isak is also being linked.

It's also a big summer for the club with key players Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes entering the last two years of their contracts.

He will need to make sure that those players are locked down so that Arteta can continue to build on the impressive work he has done with the team.

There are also players who need to be moved on. Oleksandr Zinchenko has dropped further down the pecking order after the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and the Gunners were willing to let him go in January if they received the right offer.

It is an exciting project for any sporting director to come into but with the Gunners challenging for silverware in recent seasons, this summer is not something that they can afford to get wrong.

Arsenal

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New Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is best known for his time at Atletico Madrid.

Working with manager Diego Simeone, he helped the Spanish side make astute acquisitions during their rebuild post-2014 La Liga triumph.

France striker Antoine Griezmann was signed from Real Sociedad for £24.8m in 2014 and five years later was sold to Barcelona for £103m. Atletico then bought him back in 2021 for just £16.5m.

Rodri, now a Ballon d'Or winner, was signed for £16.5m in 2018 and sold to Manchester City the following year for £62.5m, while goalkeeper Jan Oblak was signed from Benfica in 2014 for just £13m. He's now widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

The question on every Arsenal fan's lips will be whether he will be able to replicate that success in north London.

Arsenal

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It's not been all quiet at Arsenal during the international break.

They have worked behind the scenes to announce the appointment of Andrea Berta as their new sporting director yesterday.

The 53-year-old Italian is the permanent successor to Edu after the former Gunners midfielder left at the end of 2024.

Berta worked for Parma and Genoa before joining Atletico Madrid where he was instrumental in signing Rodri, Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak.

There is hope that Berta will be in attendance for Arsenal's meeting with Fulham tomorrow night.

Arsenal

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All Arsenal can do is keeping winning their own games, right? Just trying to pre-empt what Mikel Arteta may say shortly.

As we've discussed, Arsenal are 12 points behind leaders Liverpool as they resume their Premier League campaign against Fulham.

Last time out, Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the game as Mikel Arteta's side beat rivals Chelsea and they will now hope to reduce their deficit to the top further with another win at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

But second-placed Gunners will also be looking over their shoulders with Nottingham Forest only four points behind them.

Arteta's men will have their work cut out against the Cottagers, who are unbeaten in their last three league meetings between the sides.

Is the title race a foregone conclusion? Who will qualify for the Champions League? Is there any crumb of hope for Ipswich, Leicester or Southampton?

Get in touch using the usual methods. We'd love to hear from you.

Yes, that's right. A north London derby, six thousand miles away, in Hong Kong.

It was announced a short while ago that Arsenal and Tottenham will contest the first north London derby to be held outside the UK.

The rivals will play in the newly-opened Kai Tak Stadium on July 31 as part of their preparations for the 2025-26 season.

The match, scheduled for 7:30pm local time (11:30am BST), will be the first time that the two teams have met outside the UK.

The fixture is part of the Hong Kong Football Festival, which will also see Liverpool take on AC Milan on 26 July.

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You can catch three of this week's Premier League games live on TV.

Manchester United's visit to Nottingham Forest (Tue, 20:00 BST) is broadcast on TNT Sports.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports will show both the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton (Wed, 20:00 BST) and Tottenham's trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea (Thu, 20:00 BST).

With only eight weeks of the season left to go, there is plenty to look forward to.

Second-placed Arsenal will hope to stay in the title race as they host Fulham tomorrow while Nottingham Forest, boosted by their FA Cup semi-final berth, welcome Ruben Amorim's Manchester United.

Wednesday sees league leaders Liverpool host Everton in what promises to be a tasty encounter, especially if the most recent Merseyside derby is anything to go by.

The week's Premier League action will spill into Thursday with Chelsea and Tottenham up against each other in another derby at 20:00 BST.

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It's been a while, hasn't it?

It has been 15 days since the full-time whistle blew at the King Power in the most recent Premier League match, as Man Utd beat Leicester 3-0.

A lifetime ago in football terms. But it's back! Tomorrow...

Stick with us over the next few hours because we'll be hearing from the managers speaking today before Tuesday's fixtures, including Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in less than an hour.

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Nigel Reo-Coker
Former West Ham midfielder on the BBC Football Daily podcast

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The reality is that it was Nico O'Reilly who came on and changed the game for Manchester City. He made such a big impact for them coming on and it was evident for everyone to see.

But you don't want the media to jump on O'Reilly now as another youngster coming through the City pipeline and to be seen as the new saviour and the future of the club.

So I think Pep Guardiola is smart in praising the senior players who did well and giving credit to them. It is a way of taking the attention away from him.

Nigel Reo-Coker
Former West Ham midfielder on the BBC Football Daily podcast

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It's just a blip for Bournemouth. Now that they are out of the FA Cup, it can be tunnel vision for them now - just the Premier League to focus on.

They need to get back on the winning track and get the results that they need. I don't think it's panic station for them. They have had a promising season so far though they have some tough games coming up.

But they are capable of beating anyone on their day. We have seen them put in performances not by luck but by the quality they have and the good manager they have.

Nigel Reo-Coker
Former West Ham midfielder on the BBC Football Daily podcast

I don't think we can look at this season's FA Cup and the four teams left and say that there is one team who are favourites to win it.

I think every single one of those teams could win this competition.

People would probably say Manchester City, but when you look at them, you can't say it's the City of old or that they are the dominant force left in the competition.