Arsenal
Arsenal injury wave: medical caution as Rice, Saka and Madueke return early
Arsenal saw several internationals return early with injuries, and Tuchel emphasised medical caution.
Arsenal confirmed a significant number of internationals returned prematurely from duty after medical assessments identified risks of aggravating existing problems. England manager Thomas Tuchel said the club trio of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke were sent home once it became clear the danger of re-injury “was way too big.”
Tuchel added: “Everyone will be out for quite some days but not dramatically.” He explained the decision on Saka and Rice: “We had an assessment after the match and none of them were able to stay and get any minutes, so we released them, of course.” Regarding Madueke, whose images showed him limping in a knee brace, Tuchel said the winger’s “feeling” was “slightly better” than those pictures and warned: “He will be out for some days.”
The England contingent followed a wider pattern at the club, with as many as 10 Arsenal players returning early from international duty with injury concerns. That group included players across several levels of severity:
– Eberechi Eze (England): calf, out for at least a month. He missed last weekend’s Carabao Cup final and reports fear he could be sidelined until the end of April.
– Noni Madueke (England): knee, doubtful after one international appearance.
– Piero Hincapié (Ecuador): knock, doubtful after one international appearance.
– Martín Zubimendi (Spain): knee, doubtful after one international appearance.
– Jurriën Timber (Netherlands): ankle, minor concern. He missed the Wembley showpiece with an ankle problem that had been troubling him for days.
– Leandro Trossard (Belgium): hip, minor concern.
– William Saliba (France): ankle, minor concern.
– Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil): knee, minor concern.
– Declan Rice (England): discomfort, minor concern.
– Bukayo Saka (England): discomfort, minor concern.
The volume of withdrawals has prompted commentary about the balance between club and country, with comparisons drawn to past debates over player availability and manager influence. Tuchel sought to counter any suggestion the players wanted to stay at the expense of their long-term fitness. “[Rice and Saka] had a medical assessment,” the Three Lions boss said. “They wanted desperately to play—to just get the narrative straight—wanted desperately to be involved. But it just made no sense to take this risk.
“If it would have been maybe the last game of the season, we would have kept them and tried everything, but in this moment of the season, it did not make sense. The risk for making it worse was just way too big. They were both in discomfort, clearly in discomfort, when we did the medical assessment. So it made absolutely no sense to stay.”
Arsenal
Arteta urges Arsenal focus as club history beckons
Arteta has warned Arsenal not to lose focus as they target an eight-game winning start.
Mikel Arteta has challenged Arsenal to keep their feet on the ground as they close in on a piece of history. A win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday would give the Gunners eight straight victories to begin a season for the first time since 1903, but the manager made clear that the milestone cannot become a distraction.
“We’ve got a really tough opponent tomorrow so we’re going to have to earn the right to win the game,” he warned. “But certainly that will be the mindset of the players and the team.”
Arteta was also asked whether he had expected Arsenal to open the campaign with seven consecutive wins. He said the signs were encouraging over the summer, even if he knew the challenge would be severe.
“Well, we know how complicated it is to win a football match at this level,” he confessed. “So to win seven, it tells the story.
“After the World Cup , especially, there were a lot of unknowns about how the players and the team were going to react. We didn’t have any time with them to work together. But I said from day one, I think the attitude and what I was seeing, I was really impressed with.
“Then you have to put it down to performances. We had a bit of luck as well, for sure, to win four matches. And we are here. And then we want to make another one for sure tomorrow.”
Arsenal’s best start to a season remains the eight-game run from 1903-04. In that era, Woolwich Arsenal were in the Second Division, and their sequence included emphatic wins over sides that finished in very different places in the table. Even so, the campaign also featured a 4-0 victory over Manchester United, with Arsenal ending the season with the division’s highest totals for goals scored and fewest conceded.
Arsenal
Zubimendi’s shifting role offers a possible path back into Arteta’s plans
Zubimendi’s route back may come at right back after a difficult start to Arsenal’s 2026/27 season.
Martín Zubimendi’s position in Arsenal’s setup has changed quickly. After being close to a regular place last season as the Gunners won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, he now finds himself searching for a way back into Mikel Arteta’s strongest side.
There were already warning signs at the end of the previous campaign. Zubimendi did not start the Champions League final, the semifinal second leg, or any of Arsenal’s last four Premier League games in midfield. In three of those matches he came on as a substitute, and in the other he was used at right back.
The 2026/27 season has brought more uncertainty. Across Arsenal’s first four matches in the league, Zubimendi has not started in the Premier League. He has been used from the bench against Napoli in the Champions League and against Manchester City in the Community Shield. Much of that is down to the rise of Myles Lewis-Skelly, who is also keeping summer signing Bruno Guimarães out of Arteta’s preferred XI.
His first start of the campaign came this week, and it arrived in an unfamiliar role. Zubimendi filled in at right back against Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup after the injury to Ben White. With competition in midfield so strong, that may now look like his clearest route back into the team.
Jurriën Timber has only recently returned from a long spell out and was rested for the Ipswich match. Ezri Konsa and Cristhian Mosquera can both play at right back, although Mosquera is currently sidelined and Konsa is covering for the injured William Saliba.
That leaves an opening for Zubimendi if he can adapt again. Arteta has already shown a willingness to use technically gifted Spanish midfielders in altered roles, with Mikel Merino previously thriving as a makeshift striker.
Arsenal
Merino Sees Yamal-Like Traits in Dowman After Ipswich Cup Display
Merino compared Max Dowman to Lamine Yamal after the teenager impressed in Arsenal’s cup win.
Mikel Merino has drawn a notable comparison between Arsenal teenager Max Dowman and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal after the 16-year-old’s eye-catching showing in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town.
Merino, who knows Yamal well from international duty with Spain, said Dowman shares more than just talent with the Barcelona forward. In his view, the pair are alike in how they handle pressure and attention.
“There are some similarities in terms of their character,” Merino reflected. “They don’t care about the spotlight. They thrive when pressure is at the highest. They are always up for the challenge and they are not shy at all, even facing the biggest names in the game.
“[Dowman] is an unbelievable talent. We knew it, but every time he goes on the pitch and plays against grown men he makes the difference. He is a big talent and we have to take care of him.
“We have to keep pushing him. He needs to keep learning—eyes and ears open always. There is still big room for improvement in a lot of areas and he knows that. So we are going to be by his side trying to get him to his best level.
“It is a thin line. It is very difficult to have equilibrium sometimes with him, because obviously you want him to shine and show everyone the talent that he has. But you have to sometimes remind them that they are human beings and they are part of a bigger squad and team.
“The good thing with these kind of players—Lamine and Max—is that they are special talents, but at the same time they are very humble. They are always keen to learn and listen to the veterans. That is priceless.”
Dowman, who turns 17 on Dec. 31, has now delivered three goals and one assist in 14 senior appearances for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arteta, though, stressed that progress must be handled carefully. He said the Premier League presents a different challenge from other leagues and that Dowman’s development needs patience and the right conditions.
“Everything is possible,” Arteta said when asked if Dowman could become a first-team regular. “The probability probably is extremely low, because you don’t see the players with the capacity to handle just the physicality of the game.
“Not only that, but the demands that you have to put your bodies through in the week to be able to be in a good condition to compete, the amount of information, the challenges that you have to face.
“But he’s doing it, and he’s doing it really well every time he’s got a chance. What we have to do is look after him. He’s 16 years old, you don’t see that in this league.
“In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context. But in this league, with the demands that the league, the players and everything puts on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he’s in the right context with the right preparation, and that’s what we are trying to do.”
