Daily Cannon

The Arsenal u18s secured a draw away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday despite missing their head coach and receiving two red cards during the game.

The Arsenal u18s took on Spurs away from home on Saturday, with 16-year-old Marli Salmon dropping back to the team for his first u18 Premier League game this season.

Salmon has primarily represented the Arsenal u21s this campaign, as well as playing for the u19s in the UEFA Youth League. But this was his first u18 appearance, perhaps in light of the fact it was a derby match, or perhaps to prepare for the FA Youth Cup.

Ife Ibrahim also dropped down to make just his second u18 PL appearance of the campaign, having similarly spent most of this season with the Arsenal u19s and u21s.

Though on the negative side, Arsenal u18 boss Adam Birchall was unable to attend the game due to illness.

If the inclusion of a couple more players in the squad gave the Gunners a pre-match boost, it showed in the early stages.

Just six minutes into the match, Ibrahim squared for Ceadach O’Neill in the penalty area, with O’Neill converting for his 16th goal contribution in 16 academy matches this season. More importantly, the goal put Arsenal 1-0 up.

The Gunners didn’t make it to half time with the lead though, as Luca Williams-Barnett drove in a low free-kick for 1-1.

Things went from bad to worse early in the second half, as Williams-Barnett scored a penalty in the 48th minute to give the hosts the lead.

Arsenal rallied, with Spurs scorer Williams-Barnett giving away possession and then compounding his error by conceding a free-kick. Teshaun Murisa fired in the rebound after O’Neill’s set-piece was partially headed away, and the Gunners were level at 2-2.

After that, the game started to get even more fiery. Salmon committed a foul in the 57th minute, and a confrontation with Spurs’ George Feeney afterwards saw both players shown red cards.

Spurs started to push for a winner, hitting the crossbar and the post with a couple of chances, though substitute Louis Zecevic-John also went close for the Gunners.

Just before the end of the 90 minutes, Spurs were handed an advantage as Josiah King was sent off as well. The foul was relatively innocuous, but deemed enough for a second yellow card.

Spurs hit the bar again in injury time, but couldn’t secure the three point against Arsenal’s nine men.

“We’re obviously disappointed not to get the win, but I think the team did well and we’re happy to go away with a point,” O’Neill said afterwards.

Theo Julienne agreed, adding: “I think we had to fight hard for the point, which is important because you don’t want to keep losing games. We say, if you’re not going to win, don’t lose, so that was important today.

“Obviously, we want to win every game, but we had to fight for the point today, and we’re happy to achieve that.”

Arsenal u18 lineup vs Spurs

Porter, King, Ogunnaike, Salmon, Hamill, Ibrahim, Thompson, Murisa, O’Neill, Julienne, Bailey-Joseph

Substitutes

Owusu-Gyasi (for Thompson, 64), Zecevic-John (for Murisa, 64), Hashi (for Bailey-Joseph, 80), Chapman (for O’Neill, 90+3), Lupinski

What’s next

The Arsenal u18s face Crystal Palace on December 6th, and both Salmon and King will be serving suspensions for that match.

King should then be available for the FA Youth Cup game on Monday, December 15th, but unfortunately it looks as though Salmon will still be banned.

Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze is an unsurprising inclusion in multiple Teams of the Week, following his hat-trick heroics in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Considering he scored three goals in a 4-1 win over Arsenal’s local rivals on Sunday, it probably won’t surprise many readers to learn that Eberechi Eze has been a staple of the various Teams of the Week on Tuesday morning.

Troy Deeney selected Eze for his BBC team, writing that the midfielder is “the man of the moment”.

Deeney added: “Goals, composure, he ran the show. The best player on the pitch.”

WhoScored also selected Eze for their Team of the Week, giving the Arsenal player a 10.0 rating.

It’s only the second time a Premier League player has achieved a perfect score from WhoScored this season, with the last player to do so also an Arsenal player – Jurrien Timber against Leeds United in August.

Eze achieved the feat by scoring three goals from his four shots on target, as well as creating a big chance, completing three of three attempted dribbles, and winning seven out of nine ground duels. It was a dominant performance from the summer signing.

Eze also made it into the Sofascore Team of the Week, and it will probably be a challenge to find one he doesn’t appear in after that derby success.

Jamie Carragher has apologised for his previous assessments of Arsenal signing Eberechi Eze, now suggesting the move could help the Gunners win the Premier League.

The signing of Eberechi Eze this summer was one that certainly excited the Arsenal fans, particularly given the fact he’d been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur just days earlier.

Yet not everyone was so convinced that Eze was what Arsenal needed to get over the line and start winning some trophies, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher among the initial doubters.

Following Eze’s hat-trick in the north London derby on Sunday, Carragher admitted that on reflection, he’d got that one wrong.

“When Eze came I thought okay, you know, maybe it’s not a game changer,” Carragher began. “Les (Ferdinand) knows him a lot better than me, he still said earlier on in the show ‘there’s still more to come’.

“But then we’ve still seen some of his highlights this season, there was still a few great goals in there, and then he goes and scores a hat-trick.

“So apologies, I think I’ve certainly unvalued the importance that signing was, because he looks like he could make the real difference for Arsenal this season in going on to win the title.”

Carragher wasn’t the only one to aim criticism at Eze following his summer move, with Spurs fans understandably keen to amplify the negatives and ignore the positives of the move.

After Arsenal used Sampha’s song Indecision in their announcement post for Eze’s signing, including the lyrics “let it all work out”, Spurs’ official account attempted to hit back after signing Xavi Simons, sharing a post of their own captioned “let it all work out”.

Following Eze’s hat-trick against Spurs at the weekend, Declan Rice shared a post alongside the summer signing captioned simply: “It’s worked out..”

Eze now has more goals and assists than any Spurs player this season. On Simons specifically, the midfielder has no goals and two assists in his 15 games since joining.

Thierry Henry was impressed by Arsenal’s tifo display prior to their north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, thanking the fans for helping to put it together.

Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the club raised a tifo banner in front of the North Bank of the Emirates Stadium, with fans in the stands behind holding up sheets of red and white to add to the visual.

The banner contained pictures of celebrations of iconic Arsenal goals against Spurs, including current players like Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard, but also club legends like Tony Adams and David Rocastle.

Sol Campbell topped the banner, in an obvious jab at Spurs for losing their former captain to the Gunners, who then won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times with Campbell’s help.

One other former player on the banner was record Arsenal goalscorer Thierry Henry, in the celebration pose the club ended up using for his statue outside the ground.

Henry himself was clearly a fan of the banner, writing on his Instagram story: “What a tifo! Thank you Gooners!”

Unlike the poor tifo attempt by the club earlier in the year against Paris Saint-Germain, this tifo was produced in conjuction with multiple supporters’ groups.

The banner was put together at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, and the club held a rehearsal the night before the game.

Other than the basic design, one of the other issues with the PSG tifo was that part of the banner wasn’t raised properly. A proper rehearsal this time ensured that wasn’t the case again.

And with the fans behind able to join in by holding up coloured sheets, it was a far superior display all around.

Leandro Trossard has admitted he was surprised by just how defensively Spurs played against Arsenal, with the club setting a new record low for expected goals.

Arsenal defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in Sunday’s north London derby, but the one goal the away side did get flattered their attacking display.

The expected goals statistics for the match only had Spurs at 0.06, meaning that with the chances they had, they’d only be expected to score a goal once every 16 or 17 matches.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be that one in 16, with Richarlison’s long-distance effort creeping into the net. But it was still Spurs’ lowest xG on record, and a sign of just how negatively they’d approached the game, combined with how well Arsenal played.

Speaking afterwards, Leandro Trossard was asked whether he was surprised by how defensively Spurs had set up to play.

“Yeah, maybe a bit,” Trossard admitted. “Because as I said, it’s still Spurs. But we have been facing a back five a lot of times this season, so we’re kind of used to it.

“At the end of the day I think it’s a really, really good performance from us, and we could have scored even more I think. But we’re really happy with the result.

“I think that’s the key, to be patient. Not to rush things if teams come here to sit down and try to defend as much. It’s just up to us, I think if everyone’s at it we can break down any team.”

Spurs’ defensive approach failed them at both ends, as despite naming five defenders in the starting lineup, they ended up conceding four goals. Trossard himself scored one and assisted another of those efforts.

The team now sit ninth in the Premier League table, and they could drop to 10th if Manchester United even pick up a point against Everton in their game in hand on Monday night.

Gabriel Magalhaes took revenge on Richarlison on Sunday, mocking the Tottenham Hotspur forward after Arsenal’s 4-1 derby win.

Following Arsenal’s friendly match against Tottenham Hotspur over the summer, Spurs forward Richarlison decided to rub in their 1-0 pre-season victory with a post directed at Gunners centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

Even though Pape Matar Sarr was awarded the Man of the Match award for the friendly, Richarlison borrowed the prize for an Instagram picture, tagging Gabriel in the post.

So after Arsenal’s 4-1 victory in a competitive fixture on Sunday, Gabriel borrowed Eberechi Eze’s shirt, match ball, and Player of the Match award for a post of his own, tagging Richarlison.

Gabriel also included his Arsenal Player of the Month award in his picture, having received the award in an official presentation by the club ahead of the match.

Given the centre-back is currently absent through injury, he was under no compulsion to attend the fixture. But the chance to watch Arsenal in the north London derby and to receive a Player of the Month award in front of the fans was clearly enticing enough to convince him to attend.

William Saliba also shared a picture of himself wrestling Richarlison to the ground, and Gabriel commented “oui oui oui, merci”.

Gabriel is expected to be out for at least the next three or four weeks, with his absence possibly extending all the way to January. The likes of Piero Hincapie will have to step up in the meantime, as the Ecuadorian defender did so well on Sunday.

Off the pitch, it looks like Gabriel is going to keep enjoying Arsenal’s recent unbeaten run from the stands and on social media.

Mikel Arteta provided a positive injury update on Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Odegaard ahead of Arsenal’s derby-day demolition of Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal welcomed injured forwards Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke back into their matchday squad for Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, but five other players remained absent.

Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Kai Havertz were all unsurprising absentees, but there had been some hope ahead of the game that Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres might make it back in time.

Ahead of the match, Mikel Arteta confirmed that both players were very close to featuring against Spurs, raising hopes that they might be involved against Bayern Munich or Chelsea later this week.

“Yeah, they were very close, and Martin (Odegaard) as well,” Arteta said of the pair.

“Unfortunately, [Odegaard] wasn’t 100% to be involved in such a game, but Noni [Madueke] is back and Gabriel [Martinelli] being back is a boost for us.”

Madueke made his return to the pitch as a substitute against Spurs, though Martinelli remained on the bench. The fact that both are available to be selected this week is certainly a boost for the team.

As for Gyokeres and Odegaard, it remains to be seen exactly when they’ll make their on-field comebacks, but if they were really as close as Arteta suggests then it shouldn’t be long now.

Arteta had confirmed earlier in the week that the club plan to put on some internal matches to get Jesus up to speed, whilst Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann revealed that Havertz has “had minor relapse on his injury”, and he’s “expected to return towards the end of the year”.

Martin Odegaard has provided a positive injury update ahead of Arsenal’s match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Arsenal v Spurs early team news

Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Riccardo Calafiori all with the squad ahead of Arsenal v Spurs

Martin Odegaard has had a frustrating start to the 2025/26 campaign so far, repeatedly returning from injury setbacks only to get injured again.

All three of the midfielder’s injuries so far came from freak clashes with opponents, so it really seems like he’s just been unlucky so far. But the latest knee injury ruled the 26-year-old out from October 4th until now.

The good news is that Arsenal’s club captain appears to be closing in on a comeback now, which would be particularly timely considering this weekend’s game is the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

“This week I’ve been working really hard on my rehab – it’s going very well,” Odegaard said in his pre-match programme notes. “I can feel I’m getting closer every day and getting towards the final stages where it’s a lot more exciting.

“I’ve been doing some pitch work and training, so I really feel like I’m getting there. That’s the best part of the rehab, when you’re getting closer to joining the team, you can do a lot more on the pitch and you can be more aggressive in the rehab.

“I feel like I’m getting stronger and stronger. I can’t wait to be back now, we’re on a good path and it’s looking good. I’m really excited.

“I guess that’s one of the good things about being injured. You get hungrier and more excited to play football again. That’s the good part of it, I’m desperate to get going again.”

Elsewhere, Noni Madueke’s fitness coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst has given an update on the winger’s injury comeback, suggesting the player will also be back imminently.

“From what I know, it’s imminent,” Isaksson-Hurst said. “He should be back in contention very soon.

“I think it was anticipated having two months off, originally we talked about maybe going and doing some stuff in this international break, he wasn’t quite ready, but I think he’s there or thereabouts. He should be back quite soon.”

Getting two or three players back from injury ahead of a week involving games against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea would be a big boost for the squad.

Seven Arsenal academy players were involved in first-team training on Friday, including one of the club’s current loanees.

Jeorge Bird reports for Arsenal Youth that at least seven of Arsenal’s academy players were involved in first-team training on Friday, based on photos of the session posted online.

Max Dowman was an unsurprising call-up, as he continues to get senior opportunities, but there were also chances for right-back Josh Nichols, winger Seb Ferdinand, left-back Marcell Washington, midfielders Harrison Dudziak and Theo Julienne, and loan forward Daniel Oyetunde.

Oyetunde is currently on loan with St. Albans City, but it’s not unusual to see non-league loanees still training with Arsenal.

St. Albans play in the seventh tier of the English footballing pyramid, and many of the players in those lower leagues will only be semi-professional. As a result, second jobs will fill their time most weekdays.

It helps that St. Albans’ home ground Clarence Park is less than a 15-minute drive away from Arsenal’s London Colney training pitches. It’s easy enough for Oyetunde to get back and forth between the two clubs.

The Arsenal first team face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and you’d imagine Dowman is the only youth player that has a decent shot at a call-up for such a big game.

With the Arsenal u21s currently on their winter break, it’s easy enough for academy players to be flexible joining in with the senior stars for a training session or two.

Gabriel Martinelli has given a hint at his potential involvement in Arsenal’s north London derby match against Spurs this weekend, as he pushes to return from injury.

With the north London derby coming up on Sunday, a number of Arsenal players still have fitness doubts hanging over them.

Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Kai Havertz will certainly be out of the match, but there’s also uncertainty surrounding Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta haven’t provided many hints on a potential injury comeback for those five players, but all of them were involved in a pre-match video for social media, and Martinelli’s contribution was perhaps significant.

The Arsenal squad were asked to give one word to describe playing in the north London derby, and Martinelli responded with “ready”.

Arsenal fans will hope that’s true for Sunday’s game, as Martinelli’s injury comeback would certainly provide a boost to the team’s wide options.

As for the other four, Odegaard responded “red”, Gyokeres “exciting”, Madueke “hungry”, and Calafiori “emotional”. There isn’t much in the way of a fitness update from their responses, but the fact they were all in attendance for the training session is at least something.

Arteta wouldn’t be drawn on which members of that group might be fit for Spurs, telling his press conference: “I can [tell you], but I’m not going to do it.”

The Arsenal boss evidently wants to keep his opposite number guessing ahead of the derby game, and unfortunately that means keeping the supporters in the dark for the time being.