Arsenal

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter in Bilbao

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Mikel Arteta has said he is excited to "start from scratch" as Arsenal prepare to play Athletic Bilbao in their first Champions League game of the season.

The Gunners reached the semi-final stage of the competition last season, losing to eventual winners Paris St-Germain.

Arsenal beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in their final pre-season game of the summer, but have some injury worries coming into this fixture.

Captain Martin Odegaard came off with a shoulder problem in the win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday and has not travelled to Spain.

The Gunners are also going to be without Bukayo Saka and Ben White, who has a minor issue and did not train.

However, Arsenal have been given a boost as William Saliba is back in the squad after missing the match on Saturday with an ankle problem.

Image source, Getty Images

David Raya says Arsenal have "belief" they can win the Champions League after suffering a painful defeat by eventual winners Paris St-Germain in the semi-finals last season.

The Spain international goalkeeper - who turned 30 on Monday - has kept 42 clean sheets in his 100 Gunners appearances but has not lifted a major trophy with the club despite his impressive impact.

"We have belief, we want to win," he told media before Tuesday's Champions League opener against Athletic Bilbao.

"We are Arsenal and we play to win. It is not a doubt, that is what we play to do. That is what we play football for.

"It's a long journey, a long season, in the Premier League and Champions League so we are focused in the present.

"We want to go higher this season, that's what we want to do."

When pushed on what the Gunners learned from that PSG defeat, Raya added: "That it hurts a lot losing in the semi-final. You get more mature.

"It is incredible to be here."

Kepa Arrizabalaga became Arsenal's first full-time goalkeeper signing since Raya when he joined from Chelsea in the summer, and his compatriot is relishing the challenge.

"Competition is all over the place, you need competition to get out the best [in yourself]," Raya added.

"Kepa and me, we have a good relationship. It's a pleasure to share dressing room with him."

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Champions League game against Athletic Bilbao (17:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Ben White and captain Martin Odegaard will all miss the Gunners' Champions League opener. He added that Odegaard has not travelled with the squad.

• Providing an update on Bukayo Saka's fitness, Arteta said: "There's still quite a lot of things to go through. Very difficult to understand what week he is going to be available. He will most certainly be pushing to be available as soon as possible."

• Asked if Arsenal are better placed to win the Champions League now: "That's the aim in the beginning but we all know it's going to be a really long journey. The margins in this competition are very small and you have to be at your very best from day one to give yourself the best chance."

• What has the team learned from last season? "That we are good enough, that we can compete against any opposition on the day. You have to have two things go your way. You have to have a full squad available at critical moments and have to put the ball in the net when the chances come your way."

• More on last season's run to the semi-final: "We were very unlucky in the semi-final not to get through. You take a lot of learning from that, it's not only what we feel but the expectations that we have created and the real conviction that we can go all the way. We showed a very good level of consistency throughout the competition and we need to lean on that and try to be better."

• He is "excited" to begin a new European campaign in the area where he grew up: "A beautiful place and stadium we know is going to create something special."

Listen to live commentary of Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal on Tuesday from 17:45 on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde thinks Arsenal are one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season, speaking ahead of his side's fixture against the Gunners on Tuesday.

"Arsenal are totally focused on this match," said Valverde. "They are one of the favourites to win the Champions League because of their skill, tactics, and the winning spirit their coach Mikel Arteta has given them.

"It's the start of the Champions League and we're playing against a high-level opponent, the kind that Bilbao likes, but we have to be very careful and take advantage of opportunities. Arsenal won't be forgiving."

Bilbao forward Inaki Williams added "We are playing against a great team, one that shows no mercy. We have to make the most of the chances we get."

Alex Howell
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

William Saliba looks to be in contention for Arsenal's opening Champions League game with Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

The France centre-back missed Saturday's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. He did train with the team before that match, but said to manager Mikel Arteta he felt he needed some more time.

In the pictures of Monday's training session that are available, it does not look like Bukayo Saka, who is missing with a hamstring injury, or Martin Odegaard, who came off with a shoulder problem on Saturday, were in the session with the main group.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Mike: Very confident display and showed the great benefit of Arsenal's active transfer period. The new boys all acquitted themselves extremely well. Keep up this excellent start and we will have a real chance of total success.

Vince: What a complete victory and to think the new boys haven't had much time to bed in. If all goes well, the second half of the season should prove to be great watching for us Gooners!

Ryan: Last year, losing Saka, Havertz, Saliba and Odegaard (plus no Rice) would have probably led to a shaky win or, more likely, dropped points. The strength in the squad now means that four definite starters are not missed. Get through this tough first three months of the season close to the top and Arsenal will be in good shape.

Barry: With the players we now have, barring too many injuries, this could be our time to win the league.

Phoenix: A good way to forget the loss at Anfield - good ball play from the guys. Just happy for Viktor Gyokeres and Zubimendi is a colossus of a player - small in nature, big in performance. Trophy is the currency that the team needs going forward.

Forest fans

Andre: I was expecting a larger defeat, to be honest. We need to bring in the new signings. Never been a fan of our new coach. Seems he is doing the same job when he was at Tottenham - taking us down the league!

Stephen: Forest haven't won at the Emirates for a while. No Ange effect either. Needs to start winning big time with all the new recruitments.

Mossy: Losing players this early in the season does not bode well, with games coming up quick and fast. Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi are shadows of the influential players of last season.

Steve: This is a disaster appointment by an owner who had a mardy and dumped our best manager for years!

Russell: Let's have some patience - Arsenal are a top side.

Arsenal, Barcelona and Napoli are interested in Palmeiras' 19-year-old Brazilian centre-back Luiz Gustavo Benedetti. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

The physical demands on players and relentless schedule meant Mikel Arteta and the club decided they needed to bring in high-calibre players to ensure there was not a drop in quality during times like this.

Kai Havertz has a knee injury that will keep him out for weeks, Bukayo Saka has been unavailable since the 5-0 win over Leeds with a hamstring injury, while centre-back William Saliba was withdrawn with an ankle problem in the defeat at Liverpool.

Midfielder Martin Odegaard has had a shoulder problem and was again withdrawn against Nottingham Forest after an awkward fall.

The absence of this quartet would usually be a cause for crisis at Arsenal, and injuries to their influential players last season was a major factor in why the Gunners fell away in the title race to finish second behind Liverpool and falter in the Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain.

While Arteta will be eager for those players to return, his side - led by impressive England duo Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze - proved they have the talent and options to cope and get results after their 3-0 victory over Forest on Saturday.

When asked about his summer recruitment, the Spaniard said: "If we wouldn't have done that and, as you said, with the injuries that we have, unfortunately some of them are very difficult to control, we would have been in a very different place.

"We knew that that was the standard, that's the standard of the other teams in the league in Europe, and you can see that.

"I'm very happy because it gives us options, it gives us the capacity as well to change games, it gives the capacity to have presence in the team, and now we have to make sure that everybody feels connected and important."

Arsenal travel to Spain on Tuesday to face Athletic Bilbao for the first of their Champions League games this season and Arteta said that was another reason the club decided to invest.

"The players have to play 70 or 74 games throughout the season. It's never been done," he added.

"When the intensity was that high, they are not going to be able to sustain that. So you need more players, the standards have raised, we need better players and there's no secret."

It was a sentiment backed up by former Arsenal defender Martin Keown.

"That was a real scary show of strength from Arsenal, with the quality of player. You've been without Havertz, and Saka unavailable, and that was a problem for Arsenal last season, but not this," he told TNT Sports.

"Madueke, Eze coming in today, both of them outstanding. [Viktor] Gyokeres, what about that second goal, so direct, forward pass. This man in the box, a real predator.

"The quality of the group, even this young man [Cristhian Mosquera] at the back, what a performance that was. His full debut at Arsenal, home game, outstanding.

"At the moment, Arsenal are looking so strong."

Pundits Ashley Williams and Shay Given join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Aston Villa

• Newcastle 1-0 Wolves

• West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal were criticised for their performance in the loss against Liverpool before the international break, but they brushed off that disappointment to dominate against Nottingham Forest.

In response, Mikel Arteta named an attacking side with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke either side of striker Viktor Gyokeres.

In midfield, Mikel Merino was handed a start, after scoring a hat-trick against Turkey for Spain while on international duty, alongside Martin Odegaard as Arsenal looked to take control of the game.

Martin Zubimendi, there to link up the play, scored two goals in the same game for the first time in his top-flight club career.

Madueke, fresh from scoring his first England goal, continued that good form and was the Gunners' standout player.

He was positive whenever he was on the ball and provided an outlet for his team. And Forest, following an injury to Murillo, moved Neco Williams to left-back in an attempt to keep Madueke quiet.

Madueke was replaced to a standing ovation while the supporters inside the stadium sang his name.

Cristhian Mosquera started alongside centre-back Gabriel in place of William Saliba, who is continuing his recovery from an ankle problem, and also put in an impressive performance.

David Raya also reached a milestone as he made his 100th appearance for Arsenal and kept his 42nd clean sheet.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's victory over Nottingham Forest: "We had quite a lot of uncertainties, the boys had been away for 10 days travelling the world, only one day to prepare the match with an early kick-off.

"With those conditions, I think the boys did really well. A lot of new relationships on the pitches and you can see how they will flourish. Three goals, a clean sheet, three points so, overall, very good."

On Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke: "Both are them were terrific. A real threat with their own qualities, so different with the way that they create danger and threat and unpredictability to the opponent, so very pleased.

"They are very different, we need to use them because it will require different profiles around them to maximum the qualities that they have but they're in a good moment."

On Martin Zubimendi: "Incredible. The way he is performing, the authority he is showing is great."

On back four without William Saliba: "[Cristhian] Mosquera again. We had to throw him in after five minutes at Anfield, unbelievable performance - and again today. He was really solid, really convincing and connected with the back line. Very impressive."

On Martin Odegaard injury: "We don't know what happens, it looks like the same area as the previous injury. But the rest is good. We still have some other who are not available but we are ok."

On busy schedule: "We have a lot of games so we need everybody, we are going to have to rotate the team and keep the freshness and the spirit very high. We have a beautiful game to play now in Bilbao, very close to my home town and I know how it is going to be."

Speaking to TNT Sports about tough choices in future selections, Arteta added: "This is what we want. When you look at other teams and the squads they have built, we all have the same. You want to be competing at the very highest level.

"We've lost Kai [Havertz] already for three of four months, Bukayo [Saka] for a few weeks and you need replacements. In the Premier League, it is so tough."

Did you know?

• Eberechi Eze is the first English player to score or assist on his first Premier League start for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Manchester United in January 2012.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

It's a full debut for Eberechi Eze but there is no place for Declan Rice in Arsenal's starting line-up, with the midfielder settling for a place on the bench.

William Saliba is not in the matchday squad as he's still recovering from injury.

Arsenal starting XI: Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Merino, Odegaard, Eze, Madueke, Gyokeres

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapie, White, Martinelli, Trossard, Nwaneri, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

Douglas Luiz, a summer signing from Juventus, is on the bench for Forest as the Brazilian looks for his first minutes in a Forest shirt.

Nottingham Forest starting XI: Sels, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Morato, Anderson, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Hudson-Odoi, Wood

Subs: Victor, McAtee, Hutchinson, Boly, Luiz, Kalimuendo, Bakwa, Savona, Yates

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Nottingham Forest (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Brighton

• Crystal Palace v Sunderland

• Everton v Aston Villa - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Leeds United

• Newcastle v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• West Ham v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Brentford v Chelsea (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Everton v Aston Villa" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Wolves", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou takes charge of his first game as Nottingham Forest head coach, returning to north London to face Arsenal. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes before Saturday's match.

Arsenal paid out approximately £250m on transfers this summer, taking their overall spending under Mikel Arteta to nearly £930m. When a handful of minor sales are accounted for, their net spend in the most recent window was £240m, the highest figure in the top flight, with Liverpool (£222m) the only other club to break the £200m mark.

Those numbers will bring even more scrutiny and pressure on the Gunners, who have not won the league since 2004 and have gone five years since lifting the FA Cup, their only major trophy under Arteta.

Defeat at Anfield last time out was certainly not a terminal blow to their title ambitions, but registering just a single shot on target highlighted a familiar failing. Arteta's side scored 69 Premier League goals last term, 22 fewer than in 2023-24, with the number of shots also falling by 111. That drop-off in attacking threat ultimately prevented them from running eventual champions Liverpool close.

It is well documented how crucial set-pieces are to Arsenal, and four of the Gunners' six goals this term have come in that manner. But aside from restarts, the Londoners have struggled to break down opponents, with their expected goals figure from open play just 1.54, the second lowest in the league.

Three games – including tricky away trips to Manchester United and Liverpool – obviously represents a small sample size. Arteta will still be confident that when new arrivals - such as Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres - are fully up to speed, Arsenal's attack will click.

Postecoglou's swift return

Nottingham Forest also have a host of summer signings to integrate, having spent approximately £190m on 13 new players, but all eyes on Saturday will be on the man in the visitors' dugout. Postecoglou was named as Forest head coach on Tuesday, just 95 days after being sacked by Spurs.

The Australian didn't win a north London derby as Tottenham boss but guiding Forest to their first victory on Arsenal turf since 1989 would be the perfect way to win over any sceptical supporters who doubt the wisdom of dismissing Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Portuguese left the City Ground following a deteriorating relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis and tension with Edu, the club's recently appointed global head of football. But Nuno's legacy mean he is unlikely to be out of work long – he took Forest into Europe for the first time in 30 years and leaves with the highest Premier League win percentage of any manager in the club's history.

I am not expecting an extreme change from Nottingham Forest in Ange Postecoglou's first game in charge.

Sure, he will tweak things, and he has got his principles where he likes to play attacking football, but I can't imagine him going in with a high defensive line in his first game, especially against Arsenal.

A return to north London is pretty much as tough a start as he could get, even though Arsenal have a few injuries with Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Kai Havertz ruled out.

There is so much talent in the Arsenal squad now that they are still so dangerous - Noni Madueke was excellent for England against Serbia, and he will be full of confidence after that display.

This might be another game where Arsenal have to grind a result out, but they will find a way of winning it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Bukayo Saka "is still out," while a "decision" will be made on William Saliba after he trained on Friday.

• Arteta confirmed there are no injury concerns post-international break and Ben White has also trained and "is OK."

• Deadline day signing Piero Hincapie "is ready to go" and likely to feature against Forest. Arteta added: "He has trained two days with us and he had a very successful time for Argentina."

• On the defender: "He is a player we have wanted for a few years. With the departure of Jakub Kiwior as well, we needed another player in that position."

• Arteta said it is hard to predict how Forest will play under new manager Ange Postecoglou but uncertainty and changing styles is "what we prepare for every single day".

• On the break coming straight after the Liverpool defeat: "After a defeat you want to have a game in the next three days to get it out of your system. But at the same time, I look at the international players and see how they have grown in terms of the impact they have had."

• David Raya's 41 clean sheets in 99 appearances "is the best in the history of the football club" with Arteta then joking he "was hammered" by people when he brought Raya in.

• He said "work never stops" around contract negotiations with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, but "the good thing is that the players want to remain here and want to be a big part of the future".

• On Kai Havertz: "Kai is looking really good. He is walking freely and starting to do some bits. It was a very tough decision for him to go and have the surgery. But it was the right one. I cannot say a timeframe."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's match on Saturday against Nottingham Forest is the start of a tough month of fixtures for the Gunners.

In September they face Forest, Athletic Bilbao, Manchester City and Newcastle in the Champions League and Premier League.

They also travel to League One Port Vale in the Carabao Cup third round.

This tough run is exactly why Mikel Arteta and Arsenal decided to strengthen their squad so much in the transfer window.

This week will also be the first time Arteta has all of his players together after the window has shut, and Piero Hincapie will meet the rest of his team-mates after signing on deadline day.

Arteta is due to speak to the media before the Forest game at 13:30 BST. Come back to this page later for all the key lines from the Arsenal boss.

Arsenal have offered France defender William Saliba a five-year contract extension as talks continue with the 24-year-old, whose current deal runs out in 2027. Real Madrid are monitoring the centre-back's situation. (FootMercato - in French), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Arsenal are advancing in talks to extend the deals of England winger Bukayo Saka and France centre-back William Saliba, with the pair, both 24, out of contract at the end of the 2026-27 season. (Teamtalk), external

Meanwhile, Hamburg have an option to turn 25-year-old Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira's loan move from Arsenal into a permanent switch for €20m (£17.3m). (Bild, via Goal), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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