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Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Champions League action on Wednesday, in the first leg of the last 16, looking to continue their perfect start to their European campaign. The last meeting between these sides came in a friendly at Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, where Arsenal won 4-1 courtesy of goals from Zinchenko, Trossard, Jesus and Havertz. The last meeting between these sides in the Champions League came back in the 2001/02 season where Arsenal also won 4-1. Pires, Henry, Vieira and Bergkamp got the goals. The German outfit finished 16th in the league phase, winning 3, drawing 3 and losing 2, which as a result, meant they had to go through a 2-legged play-off against Greek side Olympiacos, where they won 2-0 across 2 legs to set up a last 16 meeting against Mikel Arteta’s men. Arsenal enjoyed a perfect league phase, winning 8 of their 8 matches. In that run, the Gunners beat Serie A leaders Inter Milan 3-1 in Italy, Spanish side Atletico Madrid 4-0 in N5 and Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich at home. Kasper Hjulmand’s side sit 6th in the Bundesliga, 3 points behind RB Leipzig in 5th and 9 ahead of Frankfurt in 7th, winning 13, drawing 5 and losing 7 of their 25 matches. Die Werkself have only conceded 4 goals in their last 7 Bundesliga matches and have only lost 1 of their last 7 league games. The Gunners have not lost in their last 11 matches and are League Cup finalists, where they will face Man City, sit 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League and beat League One Outfit Mansfield Town on Saturday to qualify into the last 8 of the FA Cup. In their last outing against Mansfield Town, the North London outfit became the first Premier League side to reach 100 goals in all competitions this campaign. Mikel Arteta on the win against Mansfield: “Because of the pitch, they have to adapt as well. Because of the energy that the supporters put in, which I think was extraordinary. The intensity, the banter at times, the interactions and the belief that they put in towards the team. “And then, because you really have to earn it. We had moments where it should have been two or three [up] when you don’t close the games and they have hope and belief. That becomes more and more dangerous and after they equalise in the game, you really have to dig in to earn the right to win it.” On Max Dowman’s performance against Mansfield: “Well, I’m very proud of him, very proud as well of Marli, obviously, two 16-year-olds, starting in the FA Cup. That tells us a lot about them, their personality and the quality that they have. And Max, yeah I think he was exceptional.” Kasper Hjulmand ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Arsenal: “Because of a German team and perhaps playing Bayern four times, Arsenal would be better for a bit of variety. “They are the best teams in Europe. We want to play against the best and are looking forward to this big challenge.”

March 9, 2026

Mansfield Town vs Arsenal – Match Preview

League One outfit Mansfield Town host the Premier League leaders Arsenal in the FA Cup. The Stags come into this fixture on a poor run, having won 1 in their last 10 matches. However, that 1 win came against Premier League outfit Burnley away from home in this competition. The Yellows, as a result of their dire form, are in a relegation scrap. Nigel Clough’s side sit 5 points above Leyton Orient who take up the first of the relegation places. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of 10 games unbeaten and now sit 7 points clear of Manchester City following their 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, while Arsenal beat Brighton on the road. Bukayo Saka got the only goal in a rather unconvincing offensive performance, but another dominant defensive display. Mansfield Town kicked off their FA Cup campaign with a 3-2 home win against League Two and were then drawn another League Two outfit in Accrington Stanley, away from home, and after a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes, Mansfield progressed on penalties. In the following round, Mansfield faced Championship outfit Sheffield United away from home, where, rather unexpectedly, they edged a 7-goal thriller, winning 4-3. And in the 4th round, the Nottinghamshire outfit beat Premier League opposition Burnley 2-1 away from home, with goals coming from Oates and the other coming from Reed, who has 3 goals in this season’s FA Cup. In the 3rd round of the FA Cup, Arsenal beat Championship side Portsmouth 4-1, after going 1-0 down through an early goal from Bishop. Dozzell scored an own goal and Martinell scored a hat-trick in a comfortable afternoon for the Gunners. And in the 4th round, Arsenal saw off League One outfit Wigan Athletic in N5. Goals from Madueke, Martinelli, an own goal from Hunt and a chip from Jesus gave Arsenal a 4-0 win, setting up a meeting with Mansfield Town at the One Call Stadium. Nigel Clough ahead of Arsenal clash: “We can’t know what sort of team they’ll pick.” “When you’re trying to win the Premier League and the Champions League, the FA Cup will be down the pecking order. With their 25-man squad, they could pick any 11 to wipe the floor with us without breaking sweat. “We can watch Arsenal for their last 10 games. It would just frighten the life out of us. We’ll do some rudimentary work on corners. We know roughly how they’re going to come in, whatever their personnel. But if top Premier League teams can’t deal with them, I don’t know how a bottom-half League One side is meant to. I don’t want the players worrying unduly. There’s only one ball coming in at any one time. Deal with it.” Mikel Arteta on Arsenal’s win against Brighton: “It’s a huge win. We knew how tough it was going to be. We’re coming back from a very difficult game with a lot of intensity, with players really going through the line in every game, with difficulties, not able to train and to come here and get the result that we got, I think it’s remarkable.” On Bukayo Saka: “Unbelievable. Unbelievable numbers at his age to produce the amount of games, to do it in the manner that he’s done it and the stats that he’s got related to those games is just incredible. So a big night for him.”

March 6, 2026

Brighton vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Arsenal will travel to the south coast on Wednesday looking to build on back-to-back derby wins. These sides have met twice already this season. The first meeting came in the EFL Cup, where Hale End proved to be the difference. Nwaneri and Saka got the goals in a 2-0 Arsenal win. In the reverse league fixture at the Emirates, Arsenal won 2-1. A strike from the skipper Odegaard and an own goal from Rutter put Arsenal into a 2-0 lead after 52 minutes. Gomez scored in the 64th minute, but it only proved to be a consolation for Brighton. The Seagulls have failed to beat The Gunners in their last 6 attempts, with their last win coming in May 2023 in a 3-0 win at the Emirates. Enciso, Undav and Estupinan got the goals in a win that all but ended Arsenal’s title hopes. Brighton come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back league wins. The last time Brighton won two consecutive league games was in November, where they beat Brentford 2-1 and Nottingham Forest 2-0. The first of those back-to-back wins came against high-flying Brentford, where goals from Gomez and Welbeck sealed a 2-0 win. The other win came against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. Gomez and Welbeck got the goals again in a 2-1 home win. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back derby wins. The first of those came in N17 against close rivals Tottenham. Eze and Gyokeres both bagged twice in a 4-1 win. The other win came on Super Sunday against Chelsea, where Arsenal utilised their set piece threat. Saliba opened the scoring, getting on the end of a Gabriel header across goal, from a Saka corner. Chelsea equalised just before the interval, Hincapie heading the ball into his own net. On 66 minutes, Timber was first to meet Rice’s corner to give Arsenal a 2-1 win. Brighton have had a mixed bag of results at home in the league. The Seagulls have won 6, drawn 6 and lost 2 of their 14 home league games. On the other hand, Mikel Arteta’s men have the best away record in the league. The North London outfit have won 8, drawn 5 and lost 2 of their 15 away league games. Fabian Hurzeler on Brighton’s narrow win against Nottingham Forest: “We want to create a desire to defend as a team and to bring an energy to the pitch that involves everybody in the stadium. “The supporters were great, they helped and pushed us over the line to win this game. In the last moments of the game we showed this desire to defend the box and block shots.” Mikel Arteta on Arsenal’s derby win against Chelsea: The players made an incredible performance as well and put so much into the game. After the great victory against Spurs, this would be even another level of difficulty. “Against 10 men, I expected a different game. “Look at the quality on the pitch – immense, but set-pieces are still the ones that made the difference. They are so good at that, and we are so good at that as well.” Jurrien Timber: It’s a privilege to be standing here for Arsenal with my team mates fighting for all these titles, we have to learn to enjoy it and keep pushing.”

March 3, 2026

Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Post-Match Reaction

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 5 points with narrow win against London rivals Chelsea. Mikel Arteta on the performance: A proper London derby. We expected that because of the quality of the opposition, because of the individual quality that they have, and because we played them four times already, so we know how good and difficult they are to play against. After we started the game so well, the first half was very, very dominant. I think the margin and the scoreline should have been bigger. But we were 1-1, so game on. I reminded them that we were in exactly the same position against Spurs seven days ago in that dressing room. They said, look what happened in the second half, so we’re going to do it again.” Mikel Arteta on controlling emotions: “That’s what we have to do – train. Gaining context in those scenarios is becoming really difficult because we don’t have time to train. And to replicate those moments is almost impossible because the emotional part is not there, and the quality of the opponent – you cannot do it basically. But it’s certainly something that we’ll discuss tomorrow because we have to improve it and do better. But at the same time, you have to give credit to Chelsea for the manner in which they’ve done it. The way they use the keeper as an extra player, the courage that they show., how they get out from tight situations, it’s unbelievable. Any player, Lavia, Caicedo, Cole, there aren’t many players that can do that, and cause you the problem and turn you around.” Mikel Arteta on Arsenal’s threat from set pieces: “Yeah, but every team to be fair, look where they are in terms of the amount of goals that they score and they have more quality in their score probably than anybody else to create and the team and the game at the end got decided in this aspect. So we haven’t scored set-pieces for a few weeks now, but we scored so many in open play. Today was an option to score from this kind of situation; we’ve done it so well, and we conceded as well.” Mikel Arteta on David Raya’s display: “Well, David is one of our leaders without a doubt, and he’s a keeper that knows how to maintain his focus and decide a football match when you need it. Because sometimes he doesn’t participate at all, and then in one action [clicks], you have to be there, and that’s very, very difficult to do. And the save that he made it in the last action, it’s a cross, it’s not a shot, but he ended up being an unbelievable shot and I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped, but David’s hand was there to bring it back to life.” William Saliba: “It was not an easy game today. “We shouldn’t have conceded the goal before half-time, but we did well in the second-half to score the set-piece, with a beautiful goal from JT. Now, we have to keep it going. We are so happy to win in front of our fans.” Jurrien Timber on the title race: “We have to enjoy it! It’s a privilege to be standing here, with my team-mates, with Arsenal, fighting for these titles. Nine games to go, hopefully something beautiful at the end.” Arsenal fan Rory: “Listen, that’s a massive win and that’s all that matters. But I NEED to see us lock games out better. There’s just that sense of fragility. Still, 3 points and onto the next, we had to bounce back from Wolves and we did.” Arsenal fan Dug: “Same old Arsenal ,always doing things the hard way! Got there in the end though, still in our hands. We have to remember that winning the league isn’t easy and there will be a lot more nervy moments but there is one thing they can do to make things less nervy and that is to cut out stupid little mistakes that seem to be creeping in. Come on Gunners, be calm, let’s do this!”

March 3, 2026

How Arsenal clinically picked apart Tottenham’s flaws

Arsenal’s 4-1 victory in the north London derby wasn’t just about superior talent — it was a calculated dismantling of Tottenham’s tactical setup. Arsenal’s 4-1 victory in the north London derby wasn’t just about superior talent — it was a calculated dismantling of Tottenham’s tactical setup. While the scoreline ultimately reflected the gulf in quality, the Gunners’ real edge came from how intelligently they targeted the weaknesses in Spurs’ new system under Igor Tudor. Right flank dominance set the tone Operating in a 3-5-2 shape and trying to be front-footed at home, Tottenham Hotspur left spaces that Arsenal were quick to exploit — particularly down their right side. The partnership of Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber proved decisive. Their movement, timing and understanding repeatedly stretched Spurs’ defensive structure. Timber’s varied attacking runs — overlapping, underlapping and drifting inside — combined with Saka’s direct threat to create constant overloads. Even when the contest was still tight in the first half, this was clearly Arsenal’s most dangerous route. Spurs forced into reactive defending Tottenham struggled not just because of individual matchups but because of the distances their players had to cover defensively. To support wing-back Djed Spence, Spurs repeatedly had to pull players out of position. At different moments: Xavi Simons dropped deep from his second-striker role Pape Matar Sarr shuffled across from midfield Micky van de Ven stepped out from centre-back That constant reshuffling created confusion and mismatches — most notably when Sarr was isolated against Saka in the build-up to Arsenal’s opener. Against a side of Arsenal’s attacking quality, that kind of uncertainty was always likely to be punished. Timber’s freedom proved costly As the half wore on, Arsenal increasingly found joy down that right channel. Spurs’ structure often left Timber with time and space to pick his passes — including the delivery that set up Viktor Gyokeres for the second goal. It highlighted a key issue: Tottenham’s shape looked organised on paper but became stretched once Arsenal began rotating and combining at speed. Arsenal refused to retreat Spurs competed well early on and the game remained competitive at the break, but the second half exposed their fatigue — particularly given injury absences. What stood out from Arsenal, though, was their mentality once ahead. After being pegged back in a recent match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, there had been questions about their game management. Here, Mikel Arteta’s side showed a different mindset. Rather than protecting a 2-1 lead, they kept pushing forward and effectively killed the contest. Eze and Rice drove the midfield battle In central areas, Eberechi Eze delivered one of his strongest displays in recent weeks. Operating as a number 10, he consistently found pockets of space that occupied Spurs’ midfield and created further problems. His influence, combined with the energy of Declan Rice, gave Arsenal multiple attacking routes. Rice, in particular, responded impressively after being involved in Tottenham’s equaliser. Instead of fading, he increased his intensity — driving forward, supporting attacks and simplifying his defensive distribution when required. It was a performance that underlined both his physical presence and mental resilience. Arsenal attacking from every angle There have been matches this season where stopping Saka and Martin Odegaard has been enough to blunt Arsenal. Not this time. With Eze finding space centrally and Gyokeres stretching the back line, Spurs were being asked questions across the entire pitch. Gyokeres, who has faced some scrutiny this season, produced one of his most convincing displays in an Arsenal shirt. His movement — particularly working the left channel against Radu Dragusin — created separation and ultimately goals. Scoring twice in a north London derby could prove a turning point for the striker’s confidence and his relationship with supporters. Title race pressure maintained Beyond the bragging rights, the performance mattered because it showed Arsenal returning to the high level they have sustained for much of the campaign. Clinical in key moments, aggressive when ahead, and tactically sharp — this was a display that suggests the title race still has plenty of life left in it. If Arsenal maintain this blend of control and cutting edge, they will remain extremely difficult to stop in the run-in.

February 24, 2026

Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal: Post-Match Reaction

Arsenal extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 5 points with an emphatic victory over North London rivals Tottenham. Igor Tudor: “Now in this moment, the team is full of problems. The only key is to work on the training day by day and be humble. We need to be more aggressive – we need to be more compact. These are the keys. You understand the gap with the mental sharpness of one team and other teams. This is a thing we need to change. I saw players available to do this, but we need more time to do this. Thinking about relegation doesn’t bring you anything to anybody.” Mikel Arteta on Eberechi Eze: “He was upset, even with me, because I didn’t play him the other day from the beginning, and some of the decisions that I made. “I just have to understand how we’re going to get the best out of him now. I could see that he wanted to prove something.” On the key to Arsenal’s win: “The attitude. Again, how you approach thing and that’s a decision that you have to make. You can feel sorry for yourself, you can look at it, oh, at this stage, I mean, when we’re all kids, we dream to play these kind of games. So when we have the possibility to do that, just do it in a manner that recognises the opportunity that we have to be where we are.” On Declan Rice: “When you talk about attitude… What Declan has done today. I mean, he can make an error, the way he played afterwards. That’s attitude. That’s personality, and courage, and to stand up in a difficult moment.” Viktor Gyökeres: “We can do even better, I’m sure. I was involved a lot. When you get to know the players around you better, it makes a difference. “I always try to come in with my attributes and help the team.” Eberechi Eze: “Today it worked out, thanks God.” “Why do I always score against Spurs? I try to score against everyone but it always seems to work against them.”

February 22, 2026

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Arsenal – Match Preview

20th place Wolves take on the League leaders Arsenal on Wednesday night, who will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League. The last time these sides met was only in December. Johnstone scored an own goal to put Arsenal in front after 70 minutes, but in the 90th minute, Tolu scored to equalise for the away side, however, in the 4th minute of additional time, Mosquera also put the ball in the back of his own net to give Arsenal all 3 points. Both sides come into this fixture off the back of victories in the FA Cup. Wolves beat League 2 outfit Grimsby Town 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Bueno on the hour mark. The Gunners come into this fixture off the back of a comfortable 4-0 home win against Wigan, with all 4 goals coming in the opening 27 minutes. Madueke, Martinelli, an own goal from Hunt and a lovely chip from Jesus put Arsenal through to the 5th round. In the Premier League, Wolves have struggled to say the very least. The Wanderers have only picked up 9 points from 26 games, and in those 26 games, conceded 48 and only scored 16 times. Unsurprisingly, Wolves have the worst home record in the division, only picking up 5 points at the Molineux from a possible 39. On the other hand, Mikel Arteta’s men have enjoyed a sensational campaign thus far in every competition. The North London outfit sit 4 points clear at the top of the Premier League, finished 1st in the Champions League group phase, recently qualified for the League Cup Final, where they will face Manchester City, and comfortably progressed through to the 5th round of the FA Cup. The Gunners have been solid away from home in the Premier League, picking up 25 points from a possible 39, which is the best record of any side in the division thus far. Wolfe on Wolves’ win against Grimsby: “We’re very happy. We obviously knew it was not going to be pretty, and we would not be able to play the football we want to play, so it was just a battle about doing the basics in football the best. We did better in the second half, we suffered quite a bit in the first half, but second half we were much better and I think we made the best of it. “Progressing is all it was about today. We knew that it wasn’t going to be a game like the last one in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury. We knew it was going to be tough and that we’d have to fight very hard, and I’m happy that we stood up to it.” On Arsenal: “It’s an important, and big challenge. They [Arsenal] are first in the table, but we made it very difficult for them a couple of weeks ago, and I believe we can do that again.” Mikel Arteta on Eze: “Eberechi Eze was really positive, that’s what we want. He’s already playing a big role, he’s played a lot of games for us and he will continue to. Those players need those moments. It’s good for the mood, the confidence.” On Norgaard’s performance vs Wigan: “Very pleased and not surprised. The way he looks after himself and every teammate, and how he handles the role, is just exceptional. I’m not surprised by what he’s done today.”

February 17, 2026

Brentford vs Arsenal – Match Preview

High-flying Brentford host league leaders Arsenal on Thursday night under the lights. The last meeting between these sides came in December. Merino and Saka got the goals in a 2-0 Arsenal win. The West London outfit have not beaten Arsenal in their last 9 attempts, with their last win in this fixture coming on a special day in 2021, where they kicked off their first campaign in the Premier League with a 2-0 home win under Thomas Frank. Brentford come into this clash off the back of 3-2 against Newcastle United at St James’ Park. Janelt, Thiago and Ouattara all found the net to give Brentford their first win at Newcastle in 92 years. As a result, The Bees sit in 7th, level on points with Liverpool in 6th. In their last 5 Premier League games, Brentford have picked up 9 points out of a possible 15, which puts them 6th in the form table. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win against Sunderland. A goal from Zubimendi and a brace from Gyokeres gave The Gunners all 3 points. As a result, the title race remains the same, with Mikel Arteta’s men leading the race by 6 points after Manchester City left it late to secure maximum points at Anfield. In their last 5 Premier League fixtures, Arsenal have picked up 8 points out of a possible 15, which puts them 7th in the form table, 1 point and place below Brentford. Keith Andrews will be without on-loan forward Reiss Nelson on Thursday, along with the suspended Kevin Schade and Antoni Milambo, Fabio Carvalho and Josh Dasilva through injury. It is understood that Leandro Trossard, who was forced off during Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Sunderland, will be assessed ahead of Thursday’s London Derby. English Winger Bukayo Saka is unlikely to return for Thursday’s match but is expected to return in time for the North London Derby on February 22nd. Martin Odegaard has missed Arsenal’s last 2 matches but could be set for a return to the squad, although not guaranteed. Prospect Max Downman has been out with an ankle injury since December and is only a few weeks away from recovery. The Gunners will not be missing any players through suspension. Rico Henry: “The gaffer [Keith Andrews] has been good to me. He kept saying that we have good squad depth. He told me to keep doing what I’m doing and that my time would come. “That’s what I did. I’ve been pushing the boys. It’s a team effort. Even when you’re not playing, you still want to help the boys and try and win.” “Now I’m back playing a bit more, it’s easier. I’ve been able to build connections with the boys. Nathan [Collins] is playing left centre-back now, and I’d never played with him like that before – it had been Sepp [van den Berg] or Eth [Pinnock]. Mikel Arteta on Viktor Gyokeres’ goals against Sunderland: “Very happy. He deserves it. He is a super committed player, and he wants to get better. He saw the line-up up and I told him he’d come in and make an impact.

February 11, 2026

Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Champions League action on Wednesday, looking to respond after losing against rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United, which was their first defeat since December 6th, when Aston Villa scored a late winner at Villa Park. Kairat Almaty come into this fixture off the back of a 4-1 defeat at home against Club Brugge. In Kazakhstan, the league works differently. The season runs from March until October. In their last league outing, which was back on October 26th, Kairat drew 1-1 at home to FC Astana to clinch the title and book their spot in the UEFA Champions League qualification rounds, where they beat Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 on aggregate, Finnish side KuPS 3-2 on aggregate, after losing the first leg 2-0 away, Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-0 win at home and a 1-0 loss away, and finally Scottish Champions Celtic 3-2 on penalties after both legs finished goalless, to book their spot in the Champions League group phase for the first time in the club’s history. Although Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled in the Premier League recently, their Champions League form has been immense. The Gunners have played 7 and won 7, with their most recent win coming against Serie A leaders 3-1 in Milan. In those 7 games, Arsenal have scored 20 goals and only let in 2. Kairat currently sit bottom of the Champions League table. The Kazakhstan side have played 7, drawn 1 and lost 6, with that 1 draw coming against 30th place Pafos, who had a man sent off after 4 minutes. Despite being bottom, the fact Kairat reached the group stage and have earned the chance to play some of Europe’s elite is a special achievement and one that will go down in Kairat’s history. Both Mikel Merino and Declan Rice will be suspended for Wednesday night’s match after both players picked up a yellow in Milan. Bukayo Saka after Manchester United defeat: “I think we didn’t show our best level for the full game, which is frustrating. “It’s such a big game with a lot riding on it. Obviously, the Emirates has been a place where we’ve been so strong this season. “It’s a tough loss to take, but we have to stick together. We go again next week; we’ll try and get back to winning ways. “In football, you can score, you can concede – it’s your reaction after it. Obviously, we would have wanted to make it 2-0, but we didn’t. Overall, we’re just not too happy with the performance.” Mikel Arteta’s reaction to defeat against Manchester United: “First of all, I congratulate Man United for the victory – a game of moments, I would define it. “The first 30 minutes was total dominance from our side in the areas that we wanted to score the goal, had another two massive chances to score. “I take full responsibility [today], they have to take full responsibility for what they’ve done for seven months, in the manner that they behaved, how much they want it. And now, in the process of winning, you have to lose or draw. It’s how you react to that. Now we have another opportunity, the best place to talk is on the pitch, in three days’ time, when we play in the Champions League again.

January 26, 2026

Arsenal vs Man United – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday where they will face Michael Carrick’s Manchester United. The last meeting between these sides ended 1-0 to Arsenal at Old Trafford. Italian defender Calafiori got the goal. The Emirates has not been a happy hunting ground in the league for Manchester United, with their last league win against The Gunners coming back in December 2017. Antonio Valencia scored and Jesse Lingard scored a brace. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a 3-1 win against Serie A leaders Inter Milan. Jesus scored a brace and Gyökeres scored late on to put the win beyond doubt. In their last Premier League outing, Mikel Arteta’s side drew 0-0 against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground. Despite dropping points, Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the table to 7 points, following Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford and Aston Villa’s 1-0 defeat at home to Everton. In continuation, since their last defeat, Arsenal have gone on an unbeaten run of 12 games, winning 9 and drawing 3, with 1 of those draws coming against Crystal Palace in the League Cup, where they won on penalties. Manchester United come into this fixture off the back of a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the Manchester Derby. Mbuemo and Dorgu got the goals. The Red Devils now sit in 5th place, 1 point below rivals Liverpool in 4th. Arsenal have been handed a boost going into Sunday’s clash in N5. Defenders Calafiori and Hincapie have returned to full training with the first-team squad, which means Mikel Arteta has a fully fit squad at his disposal for the first time this season. Earlier in the week, Manchester United confirmed that veteran midfielder Casemiro will depart in the summer. The Brazilian joined The Red Devils in 2022/23, and has so far featured in 146 games, scoring 21 goals. Mikel Arteta ahead of Sunday: “Well, obviously, Michael coming in will bring new ideas. Always, the intensity rises up. You could see that in the Manchester derby, the kind of behaviours and the game that they played, so we will expect a really tough match and we’ll adapt to that for sure. But we are at home and we know how important that game is for us. You guys sell it so well, especially in Spain, because you could see the tension and the rivalry and those individual battles that were there as well that make the game really, really special. So, obviously, two massive clubs that have been fighting at the highest level for so many years and we want to try to have the best possible game to win it.” Michael Carrick on Arsenal: “We have got our ideas on what needs to be done and how we need to get there. Credit to Arsenal, they are in a really strong place for building a squad and recruitment. Mikel takes credit for that, he has done a fantastic job. We have our own ideas on what we need to do and what it is going to take get there and that is what we are working towards. “I am looking forward to the game. It’s a big challenge. They are a very good team. It is pretty obvious to say that, they have so many strong points to their game. It is a big challenge. They are where they are for a reason in the Champions League, we are fully aware of that and not taking that lightly at all. We feel we are in a good place and we go there looking forward to the game. It is where we want to be, we want to be positive with that energy and enthusiasm but we know it is not going to be easy.”

January 25, 2026

Arsenal