Arsenal received a boost on Friday when manager Mikel Arteta confirmed William Saliba is back in training ahead of the match against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium. A previous report had suggested the 24-year-old could be sidelined for up to a month, but Arteta moved to clarify the situation after Friday’s session.

“Wilo trained today, so we’ll have a decision to make whether we play him or not, it’s very good news,” Arteta confirmed. The manager also confirmed Piero Hincapié is available after only two days’ work with the squad, giving Arteta additional defensive options as he assesses his starting line-up.

Forest travel to the Emirates with Ange Postecoglou installed as manager following Nuno Espírito Santo’s sudden dismissal. The Australian has signed an 18-month contract at the City Ground. The club will balance that transition with a notable absence of their own. Starting right back Ola Aina is expected to miss up to three months after sustaining a hamstring injury while on international duty.

Arsenal appear to have avoided any fresh issues stemming from the recent two-week break, though they will continue without Bukayo Saka for the immediate future. On his winger, Arteta said: “Let’s see, he’s evolving really well, with very specific work at the moment,” Arteta said of his star winger. “The moment that we increase that load, let’s see how he reacts.”

Additional squad news offered further cautious optimism for Arsenal. Ben White has returned to training, while Kai Havertz is progressing towards a return to action after undergoing knee surgery. With Saliba training and other defensive options available, Arteta faces a selection call that will influence how the home side lines up against a Forest side under new management.

Arsenal right back Ben White has offered a clear assessment of Viktor Gyökeres after the striker’s arrival at the club, praising his training habits and the physical presence he brings to the squad.

Gyökeres earned a prolific reputation during two years at Sporting CP in Lisbon, where a strong goal return prompted Arsenal to pay £55 million ($74.2 million) for the 27-year-old. His early appearances in north London have been mixed; Swedish media accused him of being out of shape after an underwhelming pair of appearances this month. Despite that, Gyökeres has impressed his new teammates in training.

“I can’t say a bad word about him to be honest,” White gushed to Arsenal’s in-house media . “He’s one of the most professional trainers I’ve ever seen, he’s right up there with Martin Ødegaard in that respect. It’s great that we have these players coming in, because all this competition for places makes people lift their standards and it makes everyone better.”

White underlined Gyökeres’s combination of size and movement, and the challenge he represents for defenders.

“He’s a monster!” the Arsenal defender laughed. “He lives for goals. doesn’t he? He’s a constant threat. You really don’t want to get in his way when you are playing against him, because he’ll just move you out of the way anyway!

“He’s such a big presence and I think it will be a massive help that he’s already played in English football. You see a lot of people come to the Premier League and they’ve had no taste of what it’s like and it can be a struggle.

White’s remarks signal that, from the dressing room perspective, Gyökeres’s professionalism and physical profile are positives for Arsenal. The competition for places that followed the transfer is already being framed as a motivator within the squad, with training standards highlighted as a key benefit of the new arrival.

The Premier League Hall of Fame has become a permanent feature of the competition’s modern story. For a player to be eligible for a place in the Premier League’s Hall of Fame, they must have made 250 appearances in the division since its 1992 inauguration or achieved one of the following:

The list of inductees reads like a roll call of defining figures. The Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer has just a single league title to his name, but he’ll likely remain a record-holder unless Harry Kane opts to make a comeback post-Bayern Munich. Shearer’s greatest collective success came with Blackburn Rovers, but he’s immortalised on Tyneside.

Many regard Henry as the greatest Premier League player there’s been. The dazzling French forward has the collective accolades and individual achievements to supply a compelling case. Cantona was utterly unique. Man Utd took a flyer on Cantona at the start of the Premier League era, but the Frenchman proved to be the making of the Red Devils’ 90s dynasty.

Roy Keane is presented as arguably the greatest captain the League has ever seen, while Lampard remains the highest scoring midfielder in the competition, with over 600 Premier League appearances and three league titles with Chelsea. Bergkamp is remembered for sustained runs of brilliance that propelled Arsenal to league titles.

Beckham’s off-field prominence often overshadowed his on-field quality, but he was one of the stars of Premier League football in the 90s. Rooney’s arrival felt inevitable and he was a constant thorn for many opponents at the Theatre of Dreams. Vieira was an early Wenger recruit and the leader of Arsenal teams that conquered the country on multiple occasions.

Drogba’s 254 Premier League appearances all came for Chelsea, where he won four league titles. Kompany won Premier League Player of the Season during Man City’s dramatic 2011–12 success. Schmeichel redefined goalkeeping for his era. Scholes, part of the Class of ’92, evolved into a classy deep-lying performer. Ian Wright struck 113 Premier League goals and claimed a title in 1997–98.

Managers are represented too. Ferguson spent 26 years at United and inspired 13 league titles. Wenger managed a record 828 games and remains the only ‘Invincible’ manager in Premier League history.

Defenders and goalkeepers feature prominently: Adams, Čech, Ferdinand and Ashley Cole are all included for their defining contributions. The Hall of Fame collects these careers to explain why each figure matters to the competition’s history.