Arsenal

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Riccardo Calafiori has been following an individual training programme before Italy's World Cup qualifying match against Moldova on Thursday.

The Arsenal defender has been one of the Gunners' standout performers this season, starting all 11 of their Premier League games.

And although Calafiori has not trained with his Italy team-mates and may not take part in the game on Thursday, BBC Sport has been told that it is a precaution, with the 23-year-old's training and game load being managed.

It is hoped Calafiori will be back for what could be a massively important game for Italy against Norway on Sunday as they look to try to secure a spot at next year's World Cup.

It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992 but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Arsenal's Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Promoted Sunderland clearly have not received the memo that they are supposed to be doggedly clinging on to Premier League survival with a respectful awareness of their lowly status.

‌Maybe it was a good time to get Arsenal after the Gunners' trip to Prague this week. The visitors also had an injury list reading like the local phone directory. Sunderland are in fact a very good team with a fantastic team ethic and having beaten Chelsea and now drawn with the mighty Arsenal, everyone knows they are not going to be relegation fodder.

As a result, Arsenal fans should not be too dismayed. They got a point having just won 11 on the spin and had not shipped a goal in nearly 18 hours of play. The most important thing is not to have a mini-implosion like Liverpool did after their defeat at Crystal Palace in September.

‌With their next two league games against Spurs and then Chelsea, with the small matter of Bayern Munich squashed in between, they will now face the kind of test that tells you if you are a true domestic and European champions contender.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Image source, Getty Images

League One Cardiff City came from behind to beat a 10-man Arsenal Under-21 side 3-1, thus eliminating the Premier League club from the EFL Trophy in the final round of group-stage matches.

Marcell Washington's powerful strike gave the visitors the lead after great build-up play, only for Cardiff midfielder Troy Perrett to level the match two minutes later.

But calamity for the Gunners when goalkeeper Alexei Rojas was shown a red card for a foul, and the hosts capitalised on their one-man advantage with goals from Will Spiers and Trey George.

Sin bins? Bonus points? Two goals if you score from distance?

Imagine a world in which you could reinvent football.

It's a dream, of course. Just a bit of fun. But stick with us.

What if you had the power to change any of the game's laws and potentially bring to an end countless hours of discussion about handball, offside, video assistant referees, or anything else you want to?

Some of BBC Sport's familiar football faces have offered their own potential rule changes.

Watch them above or read more here

Arsenal are yet to hold talks with boss Mikel Arteta over a new contract, with the Spaniard set to have 18 months left on his deal at the turn of the year. (ESPN), external

Meanwhile, Everton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are monitoring Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly's situation after England boss Thomas Tuchel said the 19-year-old needs more minutes to be considered for his squad. (Caught Offside, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column here

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal are in advanced talks over appointing Napoli head of scouting Maurizio Micheli into a leading recruitment position.

In what would be viewed as a significant coup for the London club, Micheli - who has been credited with the identification of players such as Marek Hamsik, Kim Min-jae and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - is said to be finalising a move to Emirates Stadium.

The Premier League club have undergone a period of internal change over the previous 12 months following the departures of sporting director Edu and his number two Jason Ayto.

Andrea Berta was appointed the club's sporting director in April and is playing a key role in shaping the club's recruitment department.

And Berta is understood to have identified Micheli, 57, as a key appointment to his team, with discussions already believed to be underway.

The Italian has held numerous scouting roles across Serie A, including positions at Bologna and Brescia.

He originally joined Napoli in 2010 in the position as chief scout but left for the head of scouting role at Hellas Verona in 2015. Micheli eventually returned to Naples in 2018 in his current role.

It is remains to be seen how far Micheli's remit would stretch if he is appointed at Arsenal.

Long-serving executive James Ellis was promoted into the position of technical director - player recruitment earlier this year.

Micheli has developed a reputation as one of Italian football's leading talent-spotters in recent years.

In addition to Hamsik, Kim and Kvaratskhelia, the transfer specialist has also been credited with unearthing former Ghana internationals Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan among others during his time working for Udinese.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Life as a Premier League goalkeeper is a tightrope walk.

It is a fine line between being the hero and the villain.

And while David Raya could by no means be called the villain on Saturday, or during the past month-and-a-half of clean sheets, a late lapse in judgement or concentration has left fans feeling he is the reason Arsenal came away from the Stadium Light with just the one point instead of three.

Former goalkeeper David Seaman was also among those to question the 30-year-old, telling Premier League Productions: "Whether Raya should come, I'd question that.

"And the way he comes for the ball, he tries to catch it, is he aware of the guy [Brian Brobbey] getting close?

"It's a great finish by Brobbey but I would just question the decision of Raya, whether he should come and try to punch it, rather than try to catch it."

But this is not a regular occurrence from the Gunners' number one.

In fact, the type of decision making from Raya that saw Sunderland's Brobbey grab the late equaliser does not register in Opta's recording of errors leading to goals.

As such, the Spain international has not made an error leading to a goal for Mikel Arteta's side since his first season at the club in 2023-24.

In total, since his Arsenal Premier League debut on 17 September 2023, Raya ranks joint-ninth among his fellow keepers for errors leading to goals with three - and those three errors all came in the same campaign.

In the following season, he made nine errors leading to shots and so far this term has just the one, none of those instances have led to a goal.

While the stats do not always represent feeling or perception, Raya has shown that it is now a rare occurrence that he falls off that goalkeeping tightrope.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on David Raya, and whether it was his mistake that led to Sunderland's late equaliser in their 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: Absolutely Raya's mistake but he has saved us on many occasions and that is the life of a goalkeeper. It's not a big deal.

Mike: Raya could/should have done better for their equaliser, but so should Gabriel. Declan Rice should do better for the header that eventually led to Dan Ballard's goal. Martin Zubimendi should have scored. These guys have been immense, no use digging them out after one below-par performance and a game we didn't even lose.

Paul: Raya has been consistently very, very good. Yes, he might have saved it by staying on his line but one error compared with his many great saves is no issue for me.

Fred: He slipped up here but how many times has Raya made a crucial save to keep us in a game we then went on to win? Mistakes happen and now it is up to the team as a whole to get back to winning ways.

Jay: It is the way he plays. He is aggressive and comes to meet the ball. His aggressive approach has a higher success percentage than passively standing on the line. On another day, the shot hits him and people are talking about another world-class save. How can you be critical of the best goalkeeper in the league?

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

David Raya might have the easiest job in football. Before Saturday's 2-2 draw with Sunderland, Arsenal had conceded only 12 shots in nearly 13 hours since their 2-1 win at Newcastle in late September.

Arsenal are the first English top-flight team for more than a century to win eight successive matches without conceding across all competitions.

The records have been tumbling and this season. Raya has been awarded an improved contract by the club in recognition of his performances.

Despite all this, many will be pointing the finger at the Spaniard for his role in Bryan Brobbey's 95th-minute equaliser. It was a rare mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.

It is hard for us mere mortals with our ever-decreasing attention spans to fathom how Raya stays switched on for 90 minutes when his defence is so impenetrable in front of him. Fans have even made jokes that he might as well start bringing a book to keep himself amused.

But one thing Arsenal fans know far too well is that the title can come down to one point. The difference between first and second could be too tight for a momentary lapse in judgement, particularly by a player whose standards are so high.

Should the Gunners have held on to the win, they would have opened up a nine-point gap over second-placed Manchester City before their game against Liverpool. As it currently stands, the gap is four points. The door has been left ajar for Pep Guardiola's team.

There should be no cause for panic. Arsenal simply do not allow teams to have many chances to shoot on goal.

But when they do, there are no excuses for Raya not to perform. It was a mistake that cannot be repeated.

What do you reckon? Is Raya allowed one mistake or was this particularly costly?

Have your say on the Arsenal goalkeeper here

Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League has agreed to move games involving Arsenal and Crystal Palace in December to ease fixture congestion.

Arsenal's trip to Everton and Palace's game at Leeds - both originally scheduled for 14:00 GMT on Sunday, 21 December - will now be played at 20:00 on Saturday, 20 December.

The move means the two sides will have an extra day to prepare for their EFL Cup quarter-final on 23 December.

The decision to move forward the two Premier League matches has been done after requests from both clubs.

It is understood the desire for both teams to have the same recovery time before the EFL Cup tie was a factor, though television scheduling is also believed to have been a consideration.

There is an acknowledgment that the 20:00 kick-off does provide travelling supporters with logistical difficulties.

But the Premier League says the decision has been taken with the players' well-being at the forefront of its mind.

It said: "Player welfare is a priority for the Premier League, and we have therefore granted requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their respective fixtures.

"This comes after the scheduling of matches from other competitions around Premier League fixtures without adequate player recovery time.

"This is also further evidence of the impact the expanded Uefa competitions have on the domestic fixture calendar."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal have insisted players, supporters and staff are their "priority" after it was confirmed the Premier League would move the club's fixture with Everton a day earlier.

The match with the Toffees had been scheduled for Sunday, 21 December, but after the EFL scheduled their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace for Tuesday, 23 December because of the Eagles' European participation, it left the Gunners facing two games in 48 hours.

Arsenal requested a move of the fixture on Merseyside to allow more recovery time between matches and it will now take place at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, 20 December.

In a statement, the club said: "Playing two matches within a 48-hour period contravenes Fifa recommendations, which have established a consensus for a minimum of 72 hours' rest between games.

"This recommendation is in place to protect player health and fitness. Recovery time between matches is especially important during busy periods of the season, such as December.

"It is also worth noting that Christmas Eve was mooted as the date for the Carabao Cup quarter-final but was rejected due to the proximity to Christmas Day, which would impact our supporters and workforce.

"The welfare of our players, supporters, and staff is our priority, and we fully understand this change of date may result in challenges for supporters travelling to Liverpool for the game. Therefore, we are organising additional supporters' coaches for this match. All coach travel will be subsidised for supporters."

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City might have made a statement of intent in the title race with their 3-0 win against reigning champions Liverpool last night and moved four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal before the international break.

But they are still some way off catching the Gunners, according to Opta's Premier League predictions.

The Opta supercomputer's latest update has Pep Guardiola's City finishing about seven points behind Arsenal at the end of the season.

Opta still gives Arsenal 63.6% chance of winning the title this season with City only having a 22.9% chance of becoming champions in the latest set of simulations.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have only a 7% probability of defending their title with Chelsea marked at 2.75%.

Predicted points after 38 games:

Arsenal - 80.19

Man City - 73.50

Liverpool - 68.23

Chelsea - 63.34

Aston Villa - 60.76

Crystal Palace - 59.32

Man Utd - 56.37

Bournemouth - 56.31

Brighton - 55.93

Tottenham - 54.97

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Sunderland and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light.

Here are some of your comments:

Sunderland

Martin: What a team, what a performance! Dan Ballard showed his most complete game and so many of the rest of the team are really firing on all cylinders now. Brian Brobbey will get the headlines for the dramatic finish but Bertrand Traore was really impressive again. Another seven wins and we're safe...

Vince (Arsenal fan): Sunderland are quite simply Granit Xhaka personified. Steely willed and never one to throw in the towel, they did exactly what Xhaka pulled off when, as Arsenal captain, he roared back into favour after being booed off the field months earlier. Now, as Sunderland skipper, he is undoubtedly the driving force behind their lofty position in perhaps the world's toughest football league.

Klaus: This result could prove to be pivotal come the end of the season.

Tony: Felt we were very comfortable up until the rob by Declan Rice on Enzo le Fee. It became a different game after the equaliser and we were under the cosh. It turned again when Arsenal brought on a defender and we brought on a striker.

Arsenal

Neil: Arsenal were given no time to settle on the ball. However, they did look in control and there will not be many times they will they concede two goals from only two shots on target. Had a penalty been rightly given (what's the point of VAR?) early on when Mikel Merino was elbowed in the face before the ball was won, maybe the result would have been different.

Steadyedd: We looked leggy in midfield after Leandro Trossard scored, yet Mikel Arteta only made one substitution with Cristhian Mosquera. Surely this was the perfect game to bring on Christian Norgaard to help see it out and take some pressure off the centre-backs? Take Eberechi Eze off, man. Ben White and Piero Hincapie were both on the bench too, so use them to slow the game down. The calamitous equaliser could have been avoided with better in-game management. I'll allow Arteta the odd mistake, but he really has to look at himself here.

Tommy: Let's put the Arsenal run into perspective. Dropped points against three of the top six (before Sunday's games). Will crack again under the pressure of a close title challenge.

James: I'm sure there will be a pile-on because it's Arsenal and they dared to drop points for once. Not our best game but agonisingly close to pulling a result out of the bag. Really disappointed but we are a really, really good side. One result doesn't change that although the usual social media and mainstream media cliches will come out. We move on.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There is perhaps no harm in title-challenging sides who are on long winning runs being reminded that they are fallible, as they drew 2-2 with Sunderland on Saturday.

The Gunners have been brilliant this season, dealing with a lengthy injury list while building a platform from which they can challenge to win the Premier League.

Now comes the international break, which serves as a chance to take stock and recover some of their injured players before Tottenham visit in the north London derby on Sunday, 23 November.

"Arsenal won't draw as many as they did last year. If anything it shows resilience to come back the way they did," Theo Walcott told BBC Match of the Day.

"Arsenal did almost everything right up until the last few minutes."

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, too, is not reading too much into the result, choosing to focus on the bigger picture.

"We won the last 10 games, not conceded goals, we have seven players injured and the team has been phenomenal in performances and results, so let's keep going," said the manager.

"We've had some very tough games as well. Let's get some players back and go again.

You can read more analysis of Arsenal's draw with Sunderland here

Pundits Alan Shearer and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates 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 2-0 Fulham

• West Ham 3-2 Burnley

• Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after their 2-2 draw with Sunderland: "Credit to them, it was the type of game that they wanted to throw you in and you have to handle that.

"There are a lot of games like this in the Premier League right now. We conceded a goal in a manner we knew was one of their biggest strengths. They do that really well.

"After that I think we reacted well. We scored the first goal, then the second and the game was dominated. But in any moment, they just need a foul or a long throw, a direct ball to create that chaos.

"You have to defend actions well. We conceded a goal and we're really disappointed because even at the end we had a massive chance with [Riccardo Calafiori] and Mikel [Merino] to win it. But it wasn't meant to be so we have to accept it."

Any complaints? "No, we have won the last 10 games, not conceded goals, we have seven players injured and the team has been phenomenal in performances and results, so let's keep going."

On second-half performance: "We had to do something better, especially with how they set up with all the long and direct balls.

"We said something on that which allowed up more control and to dominate. We changed a few things to have more penetration and more threat. We scored two very good goals and it's a shame how we conceded at the end."

On Sunderland: "They make it really hard for you. It's is not a criticism. My feeling is that we should have won it."

On assessment of the season so far: "Very strong position for the reasons I said. Clean sheets, seven top players up front injured so we haven't been able to rotate as much. We've had some very tough games as well.

"Let's get some players back and go again."

Did you know? Arsenal failed to beat a promoted side in a Premier League match for the first time since May 2023 (0-1 vs Nottingham Forest), ending a 14-game winning run against such teams.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Arsenal have been in brilliant form this season, sweeping aside teams in the Premier League and in Europe as they look set to challenge for a number of trophies.

Their eight consecutive clean sheets leading up to this game matched a 122-year-old club record, but they could not take it outright.

And this result will undoubtedly be a frustrating one for manager Mikel Arteta.

His team had done well to turn around the game after a difficult first 45 minutes. Once Leandro Trossard struck, it seemed like they would see the game out and extend their winning run to 11 games.

But instead the Arsenal defence - which had given up so few shots in recent games - became worryingly exposed as Sunderland applied pressure in the final minutes.

This was a setback for Arsenal given they would have gone nine points clear with a win, but it is a game Arteta will hope his side will learn from.

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

Have your say on Sunderland's performance

What did you make of Arsenal's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies