Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed Viktor Gyökeres will not travel for the Champions League trip to Slavia Prague after picking up a muscle problem at the weekend. The update, given in the manager’s pre-match briefing, indicated the club will carry out further tests and imaging to assess the striker’s condition.

“I am concerned because he hasn’t had many muscular issues and he had to leave the pitch. He was feeling something and that’s obviously never a good sign. Especially for a player that is very, very explosive, so we are digging in a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury and we will announce it when we know more,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference.

Arteta also confirmed Martín Zubimendi will be unavailable because of yellow card accumulation. With a number of attacking names already absent this season, the manager once again faces selection headaches.

Last season Arsenal endured a run of attacking injuries that sidelined Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka. Faced with similar issues this term, Arteta has previously used Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker and is expected to do so again on Tuesday. Merino was a reliable emergency option late last season, but the arrangement is described as less than ideal given the club’s investment in other forward options.

Saka has returned from a hamstring injury suffered earlier in the campaign, but Arsenal remain without Noni Madueke, Martin Ødegaard, Jesus, Martinelli and Havertz. Leandro Trossard has operated as a false nine under Arteta in the past, but moving him centrally would create a vacancy on the left that could push Eberechi Eze out wide despite his stronger recent form as a No. 10.

Arsenal’s squad depth will be tested across the midweek trip to Slavia Prague and the subsequent visit to Sunderland. The November international break arrives shortly and, if key players return to full fitness, the club could be in a stronger position when domestic action resumes later this month.

Givairo Read has become one of the Netherlands’ most watched teenagers after a string of creative displays for Feyenoord. Scouts from Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich have taken note of his composed and creative performances, according to De Telegraaf.

The Amsterdam-born full back made headlines in March when he became the youngest player to register three assists in a single Eredivisie match this century, supplying a unique hat-trick of assists against FC Twente. Since the start of last season Read has created nine league goals for teammates, including three from 10 appearances already this season.

Interest from Bayern has been palpable inside the Feyenoord dressing room. “Yes, jokes are being made,” Read admitted this weekend. “They suddenly talk German to me and stuff. But that’s nice to see.” He was clear about his priorities amid transfer speculation. “It does not distract me, you know,” he insisted. “I’m comfortable with Feyenoord and my development here is the only thing in my head.”

Read’s statistical profile underlines why top clubs are monitoring him. Over the last year his per-90 output includes 0.34 assists (99th percentile), 0.22 expected assists (xA, 97th), 1.3 chances created (81st), 0.23 through balls (98th) and 2.8 touches in the opposition box (93rd). Data via FBref . Correct as of Nov. 3, 2025.

Arne Slot, the current Liverpool boss and the coach who gave Read his Champions League debut during his final year at Feyenoord, offered praise at the time. “Read also has a number of qualities that I like,” he said at the time. “Fast footwork. [He is] also not afraid to play, which is important when you have to go to De Kuip.”

Read’s development has also been overseen by Robin van Persie, who managed Feyenoord’s youth team and is now the senior head coach at Rotterdam. Van Persie promoted Read into the first-team leadership group. “The manager has also told me he has a lot of confidence in me,” Read told assembled media while linking up with the Netherlands U21 team in September. “I feel honoured to be the third captain. It gives me a lot of confidence; I dare to take more risks.”

Where Read would fit at Arsenal is unclear given Jurriën Timber’s form and Ben White’s presence, but Mikel Arteta has demonstrated a willingness to stockpile young talent, as with the summer signing of Cristhian Mosquera.

Arsenal’s credentials as serious contenders for the 2025–26 Premier League title rest heavily on the team’s defensive form. Jurriën Timber’s emergence as an elite right back, combined with a variety of inverted left-back options, has made the prospect of facing Arsenal a daunting task for opponents.

The conversation around Arsenal’s back line has included comparisons with Chelsea’s 2004–05 campaign, when José Mourinho’s side conceded just 15 goals across 38 games. That Chelsea team lost only once on their way to the title and featured a central pairing that defined the era: John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. They were often supported by Paulo Ferreira on the right and William Gallas on the left, with Petr Čech in goal.

Arsenal’s defence has been markedly strong this season. By Gameweek 10 of 2025–26 they had conceded three goals, a return that underlines why talk of historic comparisons has begun. While the full season remains a long way off, the early numbers and the emergence of Timber have focused attention on whether Mikel Arteta’s side can sustain such consistency.

John Terry has been vocal in defence of Chelsea’s record, sharing his view on social media. “I recently got sent this list of the 15 goals we conceded in 2004–05, I can’t help but be annoyed but also very proud to be part of a great team,” he explained. “Going over the games and goals in my head thinking this should be 10 or less.

“Records are there to be broken, but I’m not sure 15 goals conceded in the Premier League will ever be beat.”

Those lines capture why the comparison endures: Chelsea’s defensive benchmark is exceptional, and Arsenal’s current form has invited fresh debate. At this stage of 2025–26 the measurable fact is simple — Arsenal had allowed three goals by Gameweek 10 — and that statistic frames the evolving discussion about how close, if at all, this team might come to matching a long-standing standard.