Daily Cannon

Amid worrying injury news involving Gabriel Magalhaes, one positive update for Arsenal is that Riccardo Calafiori is expected to be fit by this weekend.

With Gabriel Magalhaes now a major doubt to face Tottenham Hotspur on November 23rd due to injury, there’s additional concern from supporters over whether Riccardo Calafiori will be fit for the match.

Despite being called up by Italy, Calafiori missed both of their games over the break with a hip injury, returning to Arsenal early.

Yet there’s good news on that front, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the defender will “100%” be ready for the Spurs game. Arsenal have run their own checks and confirmed there’s no serious injury, so the defender should be fit by the time club football returns this weekend.

Even ignoring Gabriel’s injury, there’s understandably increased scrutiny around Calafiori’s fitness following his debut campaign at the club.

The left-back was absent from 24 of Arsenal’s 58 matchday squads in 2024/25, over 40% of the team’s fixtures, and almost all of those absences were fitness-related.

Things have been a lot different this season so far, with Calafiori featuring in all of Arsenal’s 17 matchday squads to start the season, making the starting lineup on 12 occasions.

The Italy international only started 16 club matches in the entirety of the last campaign, so he’s 75% of the way to matching that total already. It would be a shame for injury to strike again after such a positive run.

Though Calafiori was forced to miss Italy’s World Cup qualifiers, it looks like he’ll be fine to return to the pitch now ahead of Arsenal’s matches against Spurs, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea.

Gabriel Magalhaes is reportedly a ‘major doubt’ to play for Arsenal against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, and even that assessment seems a little optimistic.

After Brazil confirmed news of a thigh injury to Gabriel Magalhaes on Sunday, John Cross reported for the Mirror that the defender is a major doubt to feature in the north London derby on November 23rd.

The results of scans have verified the injury setback, and Gabriel won’t travel to France with Brazil for their next friendly match against Tunisia on Tuesday.

Ed Aarons confirms for The Guardian that Gabriel is a doubt for Sunday’s game against Spurs, adding that Arsenal are concerned their centre-back could be absent for ‘a significant spell’.

Arsenal will reportedly take their time to assess the injury, but there are fears Gabriel could be sidelined for more than just the Spurs game.

That seems likely, given the way he pulled up during a defensive transition. When players pull up with a muscle injury, you rarely see them return to action within a week.

With scans showing that Gabriel has indeed suffered a thigh injury, even the most conservative estimates suggest at least 1-3 weeks out of action. If the injury is more serious, it could be a month or two. A comeback within seven days would be extremely surprising.

Arsenal do have options in defence, with Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera both available to step in, and options to use one of the full-backs at centre-back if necessary.

Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, and Ben White have all played centrally for Arsenal multiple times in the past, and William Saliba has operated at left-centre-back at times.

But ahead of two London derbies against Spurs and Chelsea and a game against the Champions League leaders in Bayern Munich, Arsenal don’t really have a replacement for Gabriel’s set-piece goals and assists.

It’s a bad time to lose the Brazilian, and others will have to step up in a big way.

A dominant defensive display could not mask attacking problems as Arsenal slipped seven points behind Manchester City.

Arsenal’s failure in the final third on Sunday cost them two points. On a day when Spurs offered little and their threat on the break was well controlled by a defence led by Lotte Wubben-Moy, the forwards could not find a single goal and the match finished 0-0.

It meant Arsenal lost two points on leaders Manchester City, matched Chelsea’s draw at Liverpool and gained one point on Manchester United, who lost away to City.

Arsenal have now fallen out of the title picture as they sit seven points behind Manchester City. The best they can realistically hope for is second place, which would guarantee direct qualification for the UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase. Catching Chelsea, however, still requires making up five points and will be extremely difficult.

This takes us back to the same problem that contributed to Jonas Eidevall’s departure, namely attacking teams who defend in a low or medium block. It was surprising that Spurs chose a counter attacking approach rather than the high press that has worked well for them this season.

There were multiple reasons Arsenal did not score. Lize Kop made important saves whenever she was called on. Arsenal created a good number of opportunities and got shots on goal, but the quality of those chances was not always high enough. The final ball was often lacking given the number of entries into the box from wide areas, and the finishing was not at the required level.

All of this ties back to the overall quality of play. If the collective level is not high enough, breaking down an organised defensive structure becomes extremely difficult.

A significant issue is fitness. Some players still do not look at full capacity after injury, such as Olivia Smith and Chloe Kelly. Others appear tired, lacking the sharpness needed to make the difference in the final third.

Renée Slegers confirmed that Olivia Smith is still returning from the injury she picked up with Canada, and said Beth Mead had been overloaded, which explained her substitution at half time.

It would be useful to know the players’ GPS data, although the club will not release it for obvious reasons. A key player like Mariona Caldentey does not look as creative as she was last season. Playing deeper affects her output, but her ability to accelerate play and create appears reduced, and she has looked tired late in games yet has not always been substituted.

I also noticed that Daphne van Domselaar did not seem as explosive as she was last season in terms of diving speed, and her kicking was imprecise at times. Katie McCabe also does not look quite as strong as last season, although she is substituted more often now, with Taylor Hinds a good option to replace her.

The final match of this block is Real Madrid at home in the Champions League before the international break.

Arsenal need three points, after losing two of their first three games, to climb the table. The hope is that they recover physically and mentally in time to take the win.

Arsenal duo Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli are both set to miss this weekend’s game away to Sunderland, but they could be back in time for the north London derby.

James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Arsenal are hoping to have both Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli back from injury in time for the game against Tottenham Hotspur after the November internationals.

Both players have remained in London this midweek, with Arsenal travelling to Prague for their Champions League match on Tuesday. But the pair are now working towards comebacks after the November internationals.

McNicholas does add that Gyokeres is undergoing further assessment on his muscle injury, so there are no guarantees he’ll return in time for Spurs. But that’s evidently the target right now.

The update could be taken as either a positive or a negative, depending on your perspective.

On the one hand, the fact neither player will be involved in the two remaining matches this week is certainly a bad thing. Mikel Arteta is going to have to call upon Mikel Merino and perhaps Andre Harriman-Annous to play at centre-forward in the meantime.

But on the other hand, given the uncertainty around both injuries, it’s encouraging that there’s even a chance the duo could be back after the international break.

Arsenal are also hoping to have at least one or two of Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Noni Madueke back after the internationals, so the squad could start to look a lot stronger at that point if all goes well.

That’s going to be necessary if Arsenal want to keep picking up results, with matches against Spurs, Bayern, and Chelsea in the space of a week between November 23rd and 30th.

Former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy believes Arsenal are only going to get stronger as the season goes on, with the Gunners currently leading the Premier League table.

The BBC’s Match of the Day 2 programme on Sunday highlighted a few stats surrounding Arsenal’s defensive performance, pointing out that the Gunners are the best in the league for clean sheets, goals conceded, shots faced, shots on target faced, and xG against.

The underlying stats seem to suggest Arsenal’s strong defensive record is no accident, and the Gunners have earned those clean sheets. Reflecting on the statistics, Danny Murphy was impressed.

“These stats are phenomenal really,” Murphy said. “You work on it in training but you need to have a group of players who are on board with it.

“And that means the ones who were disappointed they didn’t play midweek. Or the ones who are coming off the bench at 64, 68 minutes when they need the same intensity. I mean, Martinelli has been a great example of coming off the bench this season and doing lots of good things.

“When you have a foundation like that you can afford not to score that many goals.”

As a former Liverpool and Spurs player, Murphy would obviously prefer one of his old teams to win the Premier League over Mikel Arteta’s side. But the 48-year-old admitted he’s concerned by the fact Arsenal may not even be at their best just yet.

“The other thing for Arsenal as well, the players they’ve got to come back,” Murphy added. “They’ve got players who are going to come back and give more competition for places.

“And when you get more competition, you get a higher level of performance. It’s a tad worrying to be honest!”

It’s true that Arsenal have some big players to come back. Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Noni Madueke would make any Premier League squad stronger, including the current league leaders.

At the same time, there will be concerns about the potential for the absentee list to grow after this weekend, with Gabriel Martinelli, Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice, and William Saliba all going off injured against Crystal Palace.

The hope is that all of those four cases turn out to be minor injuries, but just as getting the likes of Odegaard and Madueke would make Arsenal stronger, losing starters like Saliba and Calafiori would have the opposite effect.

So whilst Arsenal can be pleased about their league position and excited for the potential injury comebacks over the next month or so, there are also reasons to avoid getting carried away.

Eberechi Eze has admitted he was prepared to move to Tottenham Hotspur this summer, but only up until Arsenal came in for him.

One of the major transfer sagas of the summer surrounded the future of Eberechi Eze. Despite initial reports of interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, the midfielder spent a long time waiting for a formal offer to be made.

When that concrete interest eventually arrived, it was from Spurs, with Arsenal’s north London rivals reeling from the loss of James Maddison.

For at least a few days, it looked like Eze really would sign for Tottenham, but negotiations dragged on a bit. Then Arsenal entered the race and quickly wrapped up a deal.

Speaking at an event this week, Eze admitted that he was considering the Spurs move, but only until the Gunners officially entered the race.

“I was prepared to go to Tottenham, but from the moment Arsenal came, it was always going to be them,” Eze said (via The Athletic). “My first (senior) Arsenal game was special. It almost didn’t feel real because it’s something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.

“Playing for Arsenal from eight to 13, it’s been in the back of my mind wanting to go back. It felt like the realisation of a dream.”

Eze has made a solid start to life at Arsenal, scoring once and assisting three times in his first 10 appearances. More importantly, the Gunners have won all but two of those matches to sit top of the Premier League with a 100% record in the Champions League.

There will be inevitable comparisons with Xavi Simons, who was Spurs’ second choice after failing to sign Eze. But the Dutch international has just one assist and no goals in his first nine matches for Tottenham, who are sixth in the league with just one win from three in Europe.

The Eze summer transfer saga will certainly add an extra element of spice to the north London derby next month.

A photo of Tottenham Hotspur star Djed Spence has emerged showing the player celebrating Arsenal’s 2015 FA Cup win over Aston Villa.

A photo shared on social media on Monday showed Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence as a teenager, celebrating Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Aston Villa.

Spence can be seen draped in an Arsenal scarf standing on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium, where the club were holding a fan screening of the final.

The future Premier League defender would have been 14 at the time, and he was clearly a follower of the Gunners, with rumours suggesting he was watching the game with his father. Now a starter for Tottenham Hotspur, there are evidently some divided loyalties in the Spence family.

Spence certainly wouldn’t be the first Spurs player to have supported Arsenal in the past.

There was that famous picture of Harry Kane celebrating the Gunners’ Premier League title win in 2004, and Matt Doherty’s transfer to Spurs was announced by the club with a clip of the player deleting pro-Arsenal tweets from his Twitter account.

Much as Spurs fans would hate to admit it, Arsenal have been the dominant force in north London throughout most of their players’ lives. None of the current squad had been born the last time Spurs won the league in 1961, nor when they last won the FA Cup in 1991.

If a young Harry Kane wanted to see a title-winning team from north London, it was Arsenal. And if a young Djed Spence wanted to see a local FA Cup-winning team, that was Arsenal too.

Maybe in another 10 years we’ll have some professional players who were boyhood Spurs fans and can recall the glory of winning the Europa League over one of the worst Manchester United sides in living memory, but not just yet.

A photo of Tottenham Hotspur star Djed Spence has emerged showing the player celebrating Arsenal’s 2015 FA Cup win over Aston Villa.

A photo shared on social media on Monday showed Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence as a teenager, celebrating Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Aston Villa.

Spence can be seen draped in an Arsenal scarf standing on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium, where the club were holding a fan screening of the final.

The future Premier League defender would have been 14 at the time, and he was clearly a follower of the Gunners, with rumours suggesting he was watching the game with his father. Now a starter for Tottenham Hotspur, there are evidently some divided loyalties in the Spence family.

Spence certainly wouldn’t be the first Spurs player to have supported Arsenal in the past.

There was that famous picture of Harry Kane celebrating the Gunners’ Premier League title win in 2004, and Matt Doherty’s transfer to Spurs was announced by the club with a clip of the player deleting pro-Arsenal tweets from his Twitter account.

Much as Spurs fans would hate to admit it, Arsenal have been the dominant force in north London throughout most of their players’ lives. None of the current squad had been born the last time Spurs won the league in 1961, nor when they last won the FA Cup in 1991.

If a young Harry Kane wanted to see a title-winning team from north London, it was Arsenal. And if a young Djed Spence wanted to see a local FA Cup-winning team, that was Arsenal too.

Maybe in another 10 years we’ll have some professional players who were boyhood Spurs fans and can recall the glory of winning the Europa League over one of the worst Manchester United sides in living memory, but not just yet.

As Eberechi Eze closes in on finalising his move to Arsenal, there’s more than a hint of bitterness from the other side of north London.

Arsenal Fixtures News report on social media that Gunners legend Ian Wright was filming with Eze late on Friday night, with Wright also having swapped Crystal Palace for Arsenal back in the 90s.

Yet the news hasn’t gone over so well at Tottenham Hotspur, with the other north London club seeing their own move for Eze hijacked at the last moment.

Phil McNulty reported for the BBC earlier this week that Spurs thought they had the Eze deal all wrapped up, and Arsenal’s hijack delivered a devastating psychological blow to their local rivals.

As if to rub salt in the wounds, Spurs had reached an agreement with Palace that Eze could play for the club one last time in their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday.

But when Arsenal agreed a deal, Eze sat out of the match instead.

Speaking ahead of Spurs’ match against Manchester City this weekend, manager Thomas Frank seemed to imply they didn’t want Eze anyway.

“To make it very, very clear, I don’t want any players that don’t want to come to the club,” Frank said. “Who don’t want to wear this fantastic badge. We don’t want them here.

“That’s very clear and I’m also pretty sure that the fans will feel the same. If they [the signings] don’t want to put the fantastic shirt over their head, play for the badge, play for the club, really enjoy it, no problem. We don’t want them.”

Yet Matt Law had reported for The Telegraph earlier in the week that Spurs felt they had done “everything possible” to sign Eze, in spite of consistent reports all summer that he’d prefer Arsenal.

It seems Frank and co. only came to the conclusion that they didn’t want the player after all hope of signing him was gone.

The Spurs fans, for their part, aren’t doing much to hide their bitterness at the missed transfer. After an Arsenal fan painted a mural of Eze in the tunnel outside the Emirates on Wednesday night (shown above), Spurs supporters seemingly vandalised it on Friday.

The imminent official announcement is sure to be sickening to the fanbase of a club that truly believed they were the favourites as recently as Wednesday morning.

Tottenham thought they had their man, but a carefully executed plan and perfect timing saw Arsenal step in to snatch Eberechi Eze from under their noses.

The headlines have been about a dramatic late hijack, but the truth of Arsenal’s move for Eberechi Eze is that the club had already positioned themselves well before Tottenham Hotspur believed they were close to sealing the deal.

What looked like a last-minute ambush was in fact the culmination of weeks of careful planning, timed to exploit Spurs’ hesitation and to capitalise on Arsenal’s own sudden need.

Arsenal struck the broad outline of an agreement with Crystal Palace as early as Sunday 10 August, keeping it deliberately quiet while Spurs continued their public, laboured negotiations.

Daniel Levy’s talks with Steve Parish stalled repeatedly over add-ons and the structure of payments. Tottenham were convinced they were edging towards agreement, but Palace, well aware Arsenal were circling, let the discussions drag on.

With Kai Havertz’s injury looking like it will leave a hole in Mikel Arteta’s squad, Arsenal pressed the button.

On Wednesday 20 August, having already laid the groundwork, they accelerated their pursuit and activated the deal.

The offer was decisive: £60 million plus £7.5 million in add-ons, a package that not only matched Eze’s release clause but surpassed what Tottenham were willing to commit.

Eze’s preference mattered too.

While open to a move to Tottenham, he had grown up an Arsenal supporter, leaving the Academy in tears when he was released in 2011 as a young teenager, and the chance to play for the club of his childhood tipped the balance once Arsenal’s intent became clear.

Spurs’ confidence evaporated overnight.

Relationships also played their part. Arsenal’s executive Tim Lewis has a long-standing professional rapport with Parish, and the Gunners were willing to sweeten the deal further by offering players Palace admired, such as Jakub Kiwior, either on loan or permanently.

Tottenham, by contrast, were left hamstrung by the rigid structure of Levy’s approach.

In the end, Tottenham were outmanoeuvred once again.

They had the time, they had the talks, and they thought they had the player, but Arsenal had already secured the key pieces in advance.

What unfolded was less a smash-and-grab but a demonstration of patience, leverage, and timing.