Arsenal

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We asked for your views on who Mikel Arteta should pick to replace Martin Odegaard while he recovers from injury - Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri or Mikel Merino.

Here are some of your comments:

Dave: I really hope Arteta doesn't go back to Merino. The Zubimendi-Rice-Merino axis hasn't worked, so don't go back to it. Eze is the easy choice for me. It is where he played naturally at Crystal Palace, and has shown his worth there (if not getting the goals and assits yet).

Carrick: It has got to be Eze, surely? If not, then why invest such a lot of money in signing him? This sort of situation is surely where he steps up?

Neil: Nwaneri is the most similar player to Odegaard so, if Arteta wants a like-for-like replacement, he should pick him. However, it is horses for courses, game by game. Eze offers that X-factor in games when we face the low block because he is prepared to shoot from long range or try that audacious flick or pass. Merino is solid and versatile but less dynamic and I don't see him with the speed of thought or creativity required in a number 10. A lot has been said about our squad depth. Arteta will have to have real clarity of thought around how he utilises the weapons at his disposal if Arsenal are to claim either of the big pots.

Harry: Losing Odegaard is a big blow. I'd like to see Merino in there, although Eze could possibly fill in.

Tim: Nwaneri deserves a chance. I'm not sure if Arteta trusts him, but he is the only one of the three who has the vision and range of passing comparable to Odegaard. If he gets a run in the side, he can prove himself as Odegaard's future successor.

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Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

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Ethan Nwaneri started as England Under-21s beat Andorra in their European Under-21 Championship qualifier.

Starting on the right-hand side of England's attack, the 18-year-old showed flashes of his quality on the ball, but looked to come centrally when he could and had an effort saved from the edge of the area.

He was then moved into number 10 role after Josh King was removed but came off with just over 10 minutes to go.

Head coach Lee Carsley is aware of of the amount minutes each player is playing at their clubs and uses the international breaks to build up game time for his squad, with Nwaneri playing the full game against Moldova before the Andorra match.

That time on the pitch could benefit Nwaneri, who has only played one full match for Arsenal this season, against Port Vale in the Carabao Cup.

Carsley referenced Nwaneri being one of the "excitin" attacking talents in the group, alongside Chelsea winger Jamie Gittens and King of Fulham.

Nwaneri was part of the squad that won the U21 Euros in the summer, coming off of the bench to play extra time as the Young Lions beat Germany in the final.

Arsenal have matches in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup before the next domestic pause in Novebmer, and Nwaneri will be hoping he can get some more minutes on the pitch after a successful international break.

Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid are among the clubs interested in signing 22-year-old Germany defender Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt, but the Bundesliga club will not listen to offers until next summer. (Bild - in German), external

Turkey forward Kenan Yildiz, 21, is set to reject interest from the Gunners, Chelsea and Manchester United in favour of signing a new long-term contract Juventus. (Tuttosport - in Italian), external

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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is not expected to return from a knee injury until after the November international break.

The midfielder, who suffered a medial collateral ligament injury, is likely to miss four Premier League games and two Champions League matches.

Following the immediate injury news last week, we looked at who could step up in his absence, with Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri all viable options.

But how do you think Mikel Arteta will replace his captain for the next chunk of games?

And how big of a blow is this injury in terms of Arsenal's title challenge?

Get in touch with your views here

Arsenal are considering a move for Sevilla's French midfielder Lucien Agoume, 23, in the January transfer window. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

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Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter at St George's Park

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England Under-20 boss Ben Futcher praised the performance of goalkeeper Tommy Setford following the 1-0 defeat by Switzerland at St George's Park.

Setford has been a regular member of England's age group squads and made his senior debut for Arsenal against Preston in the EFL Cup last season.

The 19-year-old was in England's Under-19 European Championship squad last summer but has suffered a number of niggling injuries in recent months, the latest forcing him out of a Premier League 2 game against Brighton in August.

Setford was outstanding against Switzerland, making a string of excellent saves despite finishing on the losing side.

"He had a fantastic game," said Futcher. "When he had to make saves he did and his distribution is good.

"It is good to get him back into an England shirt and playing. He is a pleasure to work with.

"He will be being looked after by some excellent people at Arsenal. Hopefully he can go back to his club and keep developing."

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Arsenal have been sanctioned for breaching FA Cup ticket rules for last season's third-round tie against Manchester United.

Competition rules require clubs to provide the opposition with 15% of the tickets issued.

The Gunners did not comply with this for the match against United in January and have been given a suspended £500,000 fine by the Football Association's Professional Game Board.

The FA said the fine would be triggered if Arsenal are unable to confirm they can comply with competition rules this campaign, or if they then fail to comply with the rules on ticket allocations in this season's rounds.

Joshua Zirkzee scored the decisive spot-kick as 10-man United won the tie on penalties.

Declan Rice says he is enjoying his "adjusted" role so far this season which he is occupying for both Arsenal and England.

"I think now I'm more of a box-to-box number eight," he said after captaining the Three Lions in their 3-0 friendly win over Wales.

"The manager has adjusted my position at Arsenal a bit this year to give me a bit more freedom to drop deeper but to also get in the box when I can and it's the same with Thomas [Tuchel].

"That really suits me on the left side of midfield, being able to get back, be an all-round action midfielder, [which] is what I want to be.

"I'm just enjoying my football and it's another season where we have started strong with England and with a team at Arsenal. Hopefully there's positive things coming."

Rice has a goal and three assists already for the Gunners this season and is enjoying working under both Tuchel and Mikel Arteta.

"I have two managers that lay it out really easily with the gameplan in what I have to do and where I have to be," he added.

"I'm the one that has to go and execute it.

When you have confidence in football you feel unstoppable at times and I think I ended the season really strong last year.

"I probably didn't start the first one or two games of this year, of this season, as good as I wanted but I have picked up my form now.

"I feel really strong, I feel fit, I feel really confident in my game. Hopefully the only way is up from here with England and Arsenal."

Did you know?

• Thomas Tuchel is the third manager to win as many as six of his first seven games in charge of England after Glenn Hoddle (1996-1997) and Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001 - both also six).

• England scored three goals inside the opening 20 minutes of a match for the first time since November 1987 against Yugoslavia (Peter Beardsley, John Barnes and Bryan Robson).

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Bukayo Saka says he is "starting to feel good again" after recovering from the hamstring injury that disrupted his start to the season.

The 24-year-old missed the last England camp in September through injury, but returned to the squad to score The Three Lions' third goal in the 3-0 friendly win over Wales on Thursday to make it three goals in his past three games for club and country.

His superb strike at Wembley was his 13th for England, making him Arsenal's highest scorer for the men's national team, overtaking Cliff Bastin.

"I started the season and picked up an injury, which kind of killed me a bit," Saka said.

"I'm still not my sharpest but I'm starting to feel good again. I have scored in the past three games and I want to continue like that."

"I want to take the way I perform with Arsenal to England, perform better in games and be more effective.

"I was really gutted that I had to miss the last camp. Coming back into the camp and getting the opportunity to score is an amazing moment."

When asked if England's squad depth and competition for places is similar to Arsenal's, Saka added: "It's pretty new to me, but at the same time it is fair and healthy.

"It is only going to get the best out of me and any other players.

"It's about us pushing each other and getting us to perform at the best level."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Who will step up as playmaker in Martin Odegaard's absence?

That is one of the questions submitted via the 'Ask about Arsenal' form, after the Arsenal captain suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee.

Odegaard has already missed four games this season with a shoulder injury and it was Mikel Merino who replaced him for three of those games.

The Spaniard played alongside Declan Rice with Martin Zubimendi sat behind them, a move that made them defensively stronger, but perhaps at the expense of creativity.

Merino has made 27 forward passes this season in six Premier League appearances and created two chances, according to Opta.

That is better than Eberechi Eze's 14 forward passes and one chance created. The England international, however, has completed more passes into the final third [23] than Merino [22] despite playing the same amount of games.

Summer signing Eze seems the most obvious choice of replacement on paper because he has mainly played as a number eight since making the switch from Crystal Palace.

He might have only created one chance, but he has impressed with his pace and tenacity when called upon to impact games.

But if Arteta wants a like-for-like replacement then left-footed Ethan Nwaneri is the player he could turn to.

Despite breaking through the senior team as Bukayo Saka's replacement last season, he is widely regarded as a central midfielder rather than a wide option.

However, for that reason, minutes for the 18-year-old have been hard to come by this term and he has been an unused substitute in four of Arsenal's nine opening fixtures.

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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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It was a perfunctory, routine home win over West Ham but it gave a huge psychological lift to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

They are still picking up points even as they pick up injuries to key players. Because of their squad depth, it is having little or no impact so far.

The new acquisitions generally look like they are fitting in effortlessly to the Arsenal style.

Martin Zubimendi is a controlling as well as a comforting influence, while Eberechi Eze has calmly grown into the group, improving week on week. Noni Madueke was brilliant before his injury, but the point is that there is now back-up to spare.

Arteta may never have a full squad to choose from this season - but, right now, that isn't stopping him.

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We asked for your views on Arsenal's plans for extending the capacity of Emirates Stadium.

Here are some of your comments:

Alun: I've been a supporter all my life, and I pay for four memberships annually (for myself, my two adult children, and my junior gunner). It's almost impossible to guarantee tickets even though I essentially have three silver memberships. The expansion would be very welcome. Allowing more fans to attend games and hopefully reducing prices in the long term.

Aditya: In principle, this makes sense. Arsenal have demonstrated the ability to consistently generate ticket sales at high value per ticket and would put them in line with the top end of stadium capacity. With their global popularity, they could sell out even 20,000 more seats! That's equal to one more world-class player every year!

Amy: The stadium needs a proper renovation, not just an expansion. It's looking very dated and hasn't aged well at all in only 20 years.

Mark G: Fantastic development for the club. More fans to cheer the team on, more income and a bigger stadium than Tottenham - what's not to like?!

However, some fans were sceptical about stadium expansion.

Alex: Don't. The current ticket demand may be ephemeral. It will ruin the architecture. 70000, we go mid-table again and loads of empty seats. Just please don't do it. The stadium is beautiful as it is, and yes, its lightness puts it ahead of Tottenham's stadium.

Mark: I find it disappointing that after only 20 years at the Emirates, they feel it is not big enough! Not brilliant forward planning! I also feel playing home games at Wembley only becomes an incentive for the visiting teams.

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So, Arsenal have held internal discussions about expanding the capacity of Emirates Stadium.

It understood the talks were about the possibility of changing the seating plan in order to add thousands of seats as the Gunners look to keep pace with the largest stadiums in the country.

The Emirates has a capacity of 60,704, making it the fifth-largest stadium among English football clubs.

The possibility of home matches being played at Wembley Stadium if work was to take place has been discussed.

Next year will mark 20 years since the Gunners made the move from Highbury.

So, what do you think? Is expansion what you want to see and how badly is it needed? And is it what the focus should be on right now?

Get in touch with your views here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has been an invaluable asset for the Gunners since joining from Brentford, initially on loan in August 2023.

The 30-year-old has missed just six Premier League games since moving across London to the Emirates, while he's played every single top-flight minute for Mikel Arteta's side since keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw at Manchester City on 31 March 2024.

Along with impressive longevity, Raya's performances have been consistently good.

Since making his debut for Arsenal in a 1-0 Premier League victory against Everton at Goodison Park in September 2023, the Spain international has kept 33 clean sheets – at least six more than any other Premier League goalkeeper during this period.

While Raya's tally of clean sheets has undoubtedly been boosted by keeping goal behind a formidable defence, his shot-stopping ability – sometimes seen as a weakness – also stands up to the best.

His Premier League save ratio currently stands at 70.7% - a record bettered by only three other first choice goalkeepers over the last two-and-a-bit seasons.

Raya also goes the longest of any keeper in between conceding a goal, letting one in every 114 minutes in the Premier League.

Former Manchester City stopper Ederson is second on this list, conceding a goal every 96 minutes, with Liverpool's Alisson third on 84 minutes.

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

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When the final whistle went on Saturday, signalling an end to Arsenal's unremarkable 2-0 win over West Ham, there was a palpable sense of relief. This has been a banana-skin fixture for Arsenal in the past two seasons. Both times, the visitors have returned to east London with the three points.

Although Arsenal cruised to victory this time around, the topic of the atmosphere at Emirates Stadium has reared its head once again. Fans have spoken about how flat the crowd felt, particularly given Arsenal's dominant play and the fact the result meant leapfrogging Liverpool to top the league going into the international break.

From where I sit - both literally and metaphorically - it is no surprise that this specific game did not produce a ferocious atmosphere. West Ham, currently 19th in the table, offered no real threat to the Gunners, bar a corner in the first minute of the game.

Arsenal were in control throughout, and hardly needed to get out of second gear to get the win. Forgettable, routine wins are part and parcel of a title-winning season.

On further examination, fans have pointed to a change in how Arsenal administer tickets. In 2023, the club introduced a ballot system, meaning fans have equal chances to buy tickets regardless of how many times they have previously attended. This has largely been dismissed as a cause for the quiet atmosphere, though, as season ticket-holders still make up the majority of the ground.

Some fans also point to the 2022-23 season for when the stadium was at its loudest. But during that time, Arsenal were surprise title challengers. Nobody expected the Gunners to be in the title race, but suddenly they were.

Fast forward three years, and it has naturally become a case of fearing dropped points, rather than celebrating expected wins.

I would love nothing more than the Emirates to be rocking every game, but I do not believe it is a massive failure if the ground is a bit quieter for a 3pm kick-off against a side in a relegation battle.

I will be reserving my judgement of the crowd for November's north London derby.

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Real Madrid are unlikely to sanction a January move for Turkey midfielder Arda Guler, 20, despite interest from Arsenal and Newcastle. (Football Insider), external

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We know what you're thinking: "At this early stage of the season, the title race is just too hard to call."

If only we had access to a supercomputer which could assess the remaining fixtures, crunch the numbers and come up with a percentage chance of each team finishing in each position.

Wait a minute, Opta has that very thing! Phew.

With seven games played, table-toppers Arsenal look to be the most likely champions, with the heavy caveat that there are still 31 games left to play this season.

The numbers are significant though - the Gunners have been given a 44.23% chance of winning the Premier League, while Liverpool are only rated as having a 30.61% chance of defending their crown.

Fifth-placed Manchester City are the only other side in double figures, with a 14.32% chance of winning a seventh title in nine seasons under manager Pep Guardiola.