Arsenal can now turn their attention back to the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s trip to Newcastle.
The Gunners will be desperate to get back to winning ways, having lost 2-0 to Bournemouth and drawn 2-2 with Liverpool in their last two league games. Arsenal booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Preston.
And they will be hoping to carry that momentum into Saturday’s clash with Newcastle, who are without a win in their last five league matches. With that in mind, Mirror Football has taken a look at all of the latest news from the Emirates.
Van Dijk hails Saliba
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has praised Arsenal defender William Saliba, admitting he was “nowhere near” as good as the Frenchman when he was his age.
In an appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Van Dijk said: “Obviously, Saliba’s making very good steps at the moment. He’s the first one I just have in mind now. He’s a solid one. I think in possession, he’s doing a good job.”
When asked by Ferdinand if Saliba reminds him Dijk of himself, Van Dijk added: “Yeah, maybe. I think, if I’m honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. Obviously, that’s the beauty of football as well.”
Arteta highlights “unbelievable” Nwaneri
17-year-old starlet Ethan Nwaneri was the star of the show with his stunning goal in Arsenal’s cup win over Preston and Mikel Arteta has talked up the midfielder’s potential.
“It’s unbelievable but he does it in training almost every day, he’s got this quality, this personality, he’s there to make things happen, he doesn’t care who he’s got around him, he needs to make the decision for himself, he does it and he scored a fantastic goal tonight,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference.
“He’s a big talent, he’s got the right attitude, he’s got the right players and context around him and we need to make sure that we put brick by brick in the right order but we have some player here. He’s going to really dictate how fast that’s going to go but I’m really happy with him.”
Arteta’s injury vow
The Gunners boss has also defended his approach of staying tight-lipped about the fitness of his players after Bukayo Saka started against Liverpool last week, despite Arteta hinting he would miss the game through injury.
“For me, I will tell you everything but that has consequences,” Arteta said. “I need to be very careful because sometimes I can tell you a player is going to be a few weeks but is a few months. Sometimes I don’t know if a player is going to be fit in two days’ time or when the press conference is.
“When I know, I am not going to lie to you. I am not going to say: ‘He’s not fit’ – and then I play him, I would never do that. But if I am certain or I don’t want to tell you, I will keep you guessing. This is my job. But as well to keep all these guys, everyone alert as well, that is important. I don’t want to make it easy for anybody.”
