Arsenal

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

One of potentially the biggest moments in English football is coming on Friday, but precious few people understand how important it could be or even know about it.

The Premier League is considering 'anchoring' wages, which would cap the amount any club could spend on their squad at five times the smallest central Premier League broadcasting and prize money payout.

It is a complex argument. The league and some clubs are considering it because they want to ensure wage inflation does not continue to rise endangering their long-term financial security. From the other side - the players and their union, the PFA - this unnaturally limits the amount they can earn in what has until now been a free and open market.

Any changes to that position foisted upon the players without their prior consultation and agreement will not go down well. Remember, the players are the people that the paying public, the TV companies and the advertisers want to see, not a bunch of chairmen, executives and directors arguing over accounts, dividends and profit margins.

The game has increased the number of games played per season without consulting those who are physically doing it. No studies on how that will affect their health in the short and long term were considered, and so the PFA in England looks like it is finally ready to take a strong stand for its members.

Strike ballots are not unknown, I should know, as chairman of the PFA my name was on the bottom of every ballot paper when we last considered strike action over changes in working conditions. The modern owners may have forgotten, but we had 99% backing from our members.

Owners may think of footballers as ultra wealthy, mercenary, thickos who can easily be controlled - well they thought that last time and they lost.

It is time for serious and meaningful negotiation between equals and not a master and serf attitude from one side towards the other.

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

Image source, Getty Images

With the Premier League season about to return, BBC Sport's Alex Howell has been answering your questions on Arsenal.

In a special Q&A across Thursday and Friday, he gets stuck into squad problems, the transfer window and future plans.

For this first part, he takes a look at the mounting injuries for boss Mikel Arteta.

Mark asked: Just wondering why the Arsenal injury list appears to have piled up under Arteta. Do you think it comes down to training methods?

Alex said: There will definitely be questions about that, particularly as Arsenal have now had two seasons in a row where they have had a large number of players injured.

But it's a very difficult thing to judge. The fixture schedule is massive while most of the players play for their countries too, which adds to the load.

Arsenal do train extremely hard though and they assess the robustness of players when deciding if they are going to bring them in.

Arteta has said that the medical department and club are always looking at reasons why they pick up certain injuries. I am sure training methods will be included in that.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far is the decline of goals scored in open play and how teams have been scoring more from set-pieces instead.

When we compare how goals have been scored to the first 11 games last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

If we look at the bigger picture and the number of shots teams are taking, there have been an incredible 370 fewer in open play than at this stage last time out.

So which teams are most responsible for this change in how goals are scored this season?

The above graph compares how teams have gone up or down in numbers of set-piece and goals from open play compared with the same stage last season.

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen by far the biggest decline, scoring just four in 11 games and that is 10 fewer than at this stage last season.

Outside of Wolves, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is very much a London thing, with five of the capital's seven sides scoring at least five goals fewer from open play than last season.

In fairness, that is largely down to them scoring lots of goals at the start of last season rather than them really struggling to score in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile Manchester City have seen the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 goals scored this season coming in open play.

When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have seen the biggest increase, with both sides replacing the five fewer goals that they have scored in open play with the same number from dead-ball situation.

Manchester United have scored twice as many goals from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games before Ruben Amorim took charge last season.

On the flipside, Manchester City do not seem to have got the memo about scoring more from set-pieces because they've scored three fewer than last season, as have Nottingham Forest, although that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement.

Read more about this season's scoring trends here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on how Arsenal should deal with Gabriel's absence.

Here are some of your comments:

Robert: Piero Hincapie should play as he does possess the left-sided attributes and has more experience. Cristhian Mosquera is super talented but probably better suited to the right side.

Stewart: Personally I would slot Mosquera in there for Gabriel. He proved himself during William Saliba's injury lay off and Hincapie has still not had enough game time in the system to feel confident he can do the job. Yes we have the squad depth now, but arguably Gabriel is our best defender so he will still be a huge loss (particularly at set-pieces).

Kevin: Hincapie straight in. Has been a part of an invincible defence in Germany and his desire to win has been spoken about at length. Mosquera is great cover for either centre-back position should any other results happen or a rest is required.

• Not an Arsenal fan? Find and follow your club

David: To deal with Gabriel being out, the obvious move is to play Mosquera. However, a formation change might work. Perhaps shift to 3-5-2 with Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi both acting as defensive centre-midfielders.

Ali: Hincapie was deliberately brought in for such dilemmas as he is a left-sided player. Either at full-back or on the left side of central defence, his pure enthusiasm, ability and proven record in this position is undeniable. After returning from international duty and appearing as captain of his country at such a young age, see the faith that has been put in him and his ability.

Rachel: My overwhelming worry is that Gabriel cannot be replaced. It is not his technical ability or vast experience. It is not his perfect set-piece timing. It is not even his unswerving allegiance. It is his immense presence in the Arsenal team and everyone, players, staff and fans can feel it. I feel a little bit afraid for us without him.

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

Which player is flying?: Martin Zubimendi has been magnificent. His partnership with Declan Rice is still developing but his presence at the base of the midfield has also contributed to Rice's sublime form. His goal against Nottingham Forest showed he is more than just a midfield maestro.

Which player is floundering?: It is hard to argue any particular player at Arsenal is floundering, but striker Viktor Gyokeres has struggled in a few games. This is partially due to a lack of service from the players around him, leaving him isolated at the front and frustrated. However, in Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Sunderland before the international break where Gyokeres was missing through injury, it was clear to see the difference he makes in taking defenders away from the wide players. We are praying he will be available for the north London derby on Sunday.

Tactically I think we… have got it spot on most of the time. Much was made of how defensive Arsenal looked at Anfield and at home to Manchester City, but this has evolved over the past few weeks into both defensive solidity and overall control, ultimately leading to goals.

I want my manager to give me more... early substitutions. Many fans commented on a lack of substitutions towards the end of Arsenal's game last time out, pointing the finger at the manager for not bringing on fresh legs. With a few players hopefully back from injury soon, I'd love Arteta to be even more pragmatic when it comes to giving our starting XI a rest if we have a significant goal advantage. This is a long season and you can see the impact of the number of games played already.

Our fans seem obsessed with... set-pieces. Quite rightly. Arsenal have continued their run as kings of the set-piece, and long may it continue. They have started to supplement these with goals from open play as well, which makes them almost unstoppable. Other fanbases might hate it, but I am sure if their teams were able to execute with the same efficiency, they would not be complaining!

But they should be thinking about... what happens when Kai Havertz comes back. With a raft of players to return, Arteta faces a bit of a headache as to who to leave out. The likes of Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Jesus all look to be on the mend, meaning there will be major calls to make on who heads to the bench and who does not make the squad at all.

My expectations for the season were... high, but now are even higher. This team can win the Premier League. The depth is there, the ability to score is there, and we have the best defence in the league. There is a long way to go but the signs are looking good.

Score for the season so far: I really cannot fault Arsenal's effort and output this season, but the 2-2 at Sunderland was a sucker punch and just might have left the door open for Manchester City.

One sentence on how you're feeling right now: Hopeful and confident, but always with one eye on the team in second place with a sense of dread.

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

Image source, Getty Images

With Gabriel facing several weeks out after a thigh injury on international duty with Brazil, Arsenal have an immediate question - how should they replace him?

Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera will compete to step in, with each offering something different - from each other and from Gabriel. Hincapie brings left-footed balance and experience, while Mosquera has athleticism and raw potential.

Both are talented, but neither has been tested in fixtures of the magnitude Arsenal are about to face.

So tell us: how should Arsenal deal with Gabriel's absence? Is it a straight like-for-like replacement, a reshuffle of the back four, or a change in approach altogether?

Get in touch here

Over the past week, we have been asking you to send in the best Premier League XI your club could have put together.

We know football existed before 1992 but as a Leeds United fan asked our experts on the club to name theirs - using the Ask Me Anything form on the Whites - we stuck with their parameters.

Here's the effort of BBC Sport's Arsenal fan writer Laura Kirk-Francis.

And you can ask us about the Gunners using their Ask Me Anything form at the top of this page or here

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

We might be in the middle of an international break, but there are still plenty of talking points coming out of Emirates Stadium, especially with a spate of injuries potentially picked up on international duty.

So what questions do you have about Arsenal? They could be on the title push, the January transfer window, Mikel Arteta's tactics, the boardroom or a topic of your choice.

Our Arsenal reporter Alex Howell is available to answer a selection this week.

Send in your question here

Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid are set to enter a bidding war for Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz after contract talks between the 20-year-old Turkey international and the Turin club stalled. (Caughtoffside), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We have, roughly, run the numbers and here is the XI your submissions have produced.

In many ways, you were spoiled for choice - and the names reflected that. It was toss up between 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 for your preferred formation but the below at least gets Bukayo Saka into his favoured right-sided forward slot.

No prisoners at the back with Gabriel just edging out centre-back partner William Saliba to line up alongside Tony Adams.

We think this team would have no problems storming to the Premier League title.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The statistics might say playing at home is an advantage - but what happens when it is not?

So far this season, 53% of Premier League matches have been won by the home team - the highest ever rate in a single campaign.

On the flip side, just 26% have been won by the away team - the lowest rate since 2010-11.

However, this has not been the case for all teams.

For some, being on the road has been more favourable. Tottenham are perhaps the most contrasting example having the joint-most points away from home with 13, but the second-worst in front of their own fans with just five points.

In the second part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "With crowds when playing away from home, there is a reduced scrutiny as a whole for away teams in that those crowds expect the home team to be the ones in charge. The players feel less judged. The pressure is on the other side.

"Another reason could come down to something in psychology I like to call simplification of the task. The team has a better collective identity when they are away.

"The human brain still goes back to the cavemen days. We have to, as a collective, fight for something. We have to protect our name. It goes back to that hunter-gatherer-against-danger mentality.

"When players are in front of a home crowd, there can be a bit of playing up to the individuality.

"I really do believe that collective identity has a strong enough influence because it amplifies the purpose and the belonging - let's belong together, let's be stronger together."

The focus might be on the players' performances being impacted by being home or away, but what about the managers?

Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest make up three of the bottom four for their home records so far this term, and all have changed their manager in recent weeks.

"100% managers and coaches can be affected, and sometimes even more so because there is so much riding on that one person," Cartwright said.

"The decision-making is the main thing. The crowd is chanting - 'take this player off, do this' - and it can lead to rushed decisions, particularly when the noise becomes relentless.

"Then there is the emotional regulation and touchline behaviour. A manager is pacing up and down, mirroring the stress state, and players see that. It can lead to mimicking and players feeling that stress too."

The impact on teams psychologically playing home or away is apparent, so how can they make the most from these different conditions?

"Our brains are wired to think negatively - it's a protection mechanism," Cartwright said.

"So when it comes to performing home and away, those players and managers who deal with it best are those who know how to use the noise and scrutiny and move on quickly from it - an ability to have a reset routine and regulate their emotions in these pressurised situations."

Read more from Marie in part one of her chat around the impact of playing at home here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

"Home advantage gives you an advantage."

It is a quote - among many - attributed to the famous former England manager Sir Bobby Robson - a simple, yet fair reflection of a historical format of football.

For as long as teams have played in leagues, games taking place home and away has been the norm, with the idea that playing at home will be to the benefit of that team.

But what is the impact of playing at your own ground in front of your own fans?

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "Home impact can be viewed in two ways. Sometimes it does have a positive impact, and what happens is there is an elevated motivation.

"What that means is the crowd energy increases adrenaline and that creates a momentum in effort and intensity in the players. It is also a familiar environment for the players, so that means it reduces the cognitive load. They don't have to think as much about anything else other than their play because they know the pitch, they know the routines, they feel settled.

"However, there are a couple of potential negative impacts as well, with the potential intensification in pressure in the home fans, most times, expecting dominance from the home team. That can lead to mistakes from players feeling bigger to them.

"There can then be what we call a threat state. The players might perceive consequences as high, so they feel they might be facing more criticism when they are at home."

While those who watch football know there are more factors than just where the match is being to take into consideration, the statistics do suggest the influence is there.

Since the Premier League started, the home win percentage has outweighed the away win percentage in all bar one season - the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign in which fans were largely not allowed admission saw a 38% home win rate compared to 40% away win rate.

So how a team handles this additional crowd pressure seems to be a key factor.

"In psychology, there is something called the challenge and threat theory," Cartwright said.

"In reality what that means is a 'challenge state' can push the player into thinking, 'I've got this, I've got the resources to cope with this'. That leads to better decision making and quicker reactions.

"The threat state, on the other hand, players might think the consequences outweigh their ability to cope. In any match context, that can mean they have a narrow sense of focus, the focus is not quite the same, so the play becomes slower because of overthinking."

"It can also be called 'red brain or blue brain' - with red brain being the one with fear-based dialogue and internal negative self-talk, while blue brain is the cool, calm and collected one that can handle its emotions.

"What sits in the middle of these is distraction. How a player responds to distraction and filters out the noise, like the crowd, can impact which of these mindsets they move into and ultimately how the team performs."

Read more from Marie in part two of her chat about why teams some teams play better away from home and how it impacts managers - that will be on this page early next week.

Image source, Getty Images

We wanted your suggestions for Arsenals all-time best Premier League XI.

And you delivered!

Here's the second set:

Mazin: 4-3-3. Raya, Lauren, Saliba, Campbell, Gabriel, Petit, Vieira, Rice, Pires, Henry, Alexis. A mix between the Invincibles and the spine of this current Arsenal team but it was tough to leave out players like Ljungberg and Overmars from the Invincibles, as well as the full backs from Arteta's team.

Will: 4-2-3-1. Raya, Lauren, Saliba, Gabriel, Cole, Vieira, Fabregas, Saka, Bergkamp, Pires, Henry. Timber could cement right-back with the early Bellerin the only alternative. Adams/Keown tempting but not as well-rounded as current two. No love for Cole but is our most consistent Premier League left-back. Midfielders and forwards pick themselves. Front six stand on top in Premier League era. Would love Odegaard to match/better Bergkamp but he's not close yet.

Ali: 3-4-3. Raya, Campbell, Gabriel, Adams, Saka, Viera, Cesc, Rice, Pires, Bergkamp, Henry. Flair for days in attack, steel in the middle of the park, ball players across the pitch and a rock-solid defence. All these players in their prime would be immense.

Lucas: 4-3-3. Lehmann, Keown, Saliba, Adams, Cole, Vieira, Fabregas, Bergkamp, Saka, Henry, Alexis. Hard not to include Ozil but that midfield would be magic.

George Mills
BBC Sport senior journalist

In a recent addition of the Football Extra newsletter, Roger asked BBC Sport: Players are frequently injured on international duty - such as Chris Wood for New Zealand last season, which may have ultimately cost Nottingham Forest a Champions League place. Are clubs compensated by the country or does insurance cover compensation?'

Since 2012, Fifa's Club Protection Programme has covered the salary of players injured on international duty - although there are some conditions.

Firstly, the player must be out of action for a period of at least 28 consecutive days and the injury must have been sustained during an "accident", which is defined in very boring and legally-specific detail in Fifa's guidelines, though it covers most of the examples you could think of.

The scheme pays the salary of an injured player up to the maximum amount of €7.5m (£6.6m) until they are declared fit to return for their clubs.

Transfermarkt lists Chris Wood as missing 18 days - three games - with the hip injury you mention from last March, suffered on international duty with New Zealand. As he returned inside 28 days, Forest would not have been eligible to claim compensation.

There are a couple of clubs who will currently be beneficiaries of this scheme though, including Newcastle United, whose £55m summer signing Yoane Wissa is yet to make an appearance since suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo.

Sign up to read more from the Football Extra newsletter

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

Find out more here

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

Image source, Getty Images

England U21 head coach Lee Carsley says 15-year-old Max Dowman is being considered for an England call-up.

Dowman - who this season has made his Premier League debut and become the youngest player to feature in the Champions League - has been impressing while with the England Under-19s.

He has made five appearances for Arsenal's first team this season but Carsley has said the "timing has got to be right" for the attacker to represent his under-21 side.

"He's a player that we're monitoring," Carsley said.

"Sometimes that talent, we have to accelerate it so quickly because of the challenge they are getting at their clubs.

"It's important that we keep in mind how young Max is and we are fully aware of him. We get all of the feedback from the camps that he plays on and there is definitely time. He'll definitely get his chance within the Under-21s."

Image source, Getty Images

"The quality of Eberechi Eze's goal was just sublime", said BBC Radio 5 Live's senior football reporter Ian Dennis after England cruised past Serbia at Wembley to record their seventh successive World Cup qualifying victory.

Arsenal's attacking midfielder put away a curling 90th-minute finish, set up by Manchester City's Phil Foden, to wrap up another win for Thomas Tuchel's side.

"It was interesting when Eze came on for Marcus Rashford," Dennis said post-match. "Thomas Tuchel has already said not everybody is going to go to the World Cup, especially regarding his number 10s.

"That position includes Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, so obviously not all of those players are going to be able to go to the United States next year.

"But Eze coming on for Rashford made me think that Tuchel clearly sees him on the left-hand side of England's attack.

"If that is the case, then Eze's competition is with Rashford and Anthony Gordon, who had started England's last three matches before picking up a hip injury.

"It is becoming very clear which players are in competition with each other now, as Tuchel tries to narrow things down to that final cut.

"Nothing has been confirmed by Fifa yet, but we are assuming it will be a 26-man squad - and he has got to get the balance right."

Did you know?

• All three of Eze's goals for England have been as a substitute, with both of his strikes at Wembley being assisted by Foden.

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze both scored for England in the 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday night.

It is the first time two Arsenal players have both scored in the same match for England since November 2021 when Saka and Emile Smith Rowe scored against San Marino.