Arsenal will be hoping to hit their stride after the international break, having recently suffered an early blow to their Premier League title hopes. They were beaten by reigning champions Liverpool last time out, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s brilliant free-kick the only goal of the game. Some more difficult fixtures will await the Gunners when club football returns next weekend.
The north Londoners will face Nottingham Forest in their first game back before opening their Champions League campaign against Athletic Bilbao. Five days later, they will host Manchester City in another early clash of the titans. Mikel Arteta will need every player firing on all cylinders to get nine points from those matches in the space of eight days.
Express Sport looks at what Arsenal could do to ensure they are in the best possible shape…
Viktor Gyokeres meeting held
Arsenal’s marquee signing has made a productive start to the season, bagging two goals in his first three Premier League games. However, the Swede appears to have been irked by some of the criticism towards him in recent weeks.
He recently fired back at claims that he disrespected Sporting prior to his exit, saying: “There are a lot of people out there who have strong opinions about things they don’t really know.
“Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, but it’s impossible to please everyone. I don’t feel I need to prove anything to people who have no insight into what actually happened.”
While the striker may have a point, he does not need to be concerning himself with outside opinions. Arsenal could benefit from holding a meeting with Gyokeres and making it clear that he just needs to settle down and focus on his football.
£87m transfer agreed in advance
The transfer window has been closed for less than a week but clubs will already be looking ahead to the January market. Arsenal addressed several key positions over the summer but are still crying out for a top-class left winger to replace Gabriel Martinelli.
They were heavily linked with a move for Real Madrid forward Rodrygo but nothing materialised before Monday’s deadline. It is a move they could revisit in January, but they could face stiff competition from several other teams.
In order to steal a march on their rivals, Arsenal could reap the rewards of opening talks during the international break. They can still negotiate deals when the window is closed, but they will only go through when it opens again in January.
Real Madrid are said to be demanding around £87million in exchange for Rodrygo, according to Fabrizio Romano. It would certainly be an expensive deal to do, but he could be worth every penny as the missing piece of the puzzle for Arsenal.
Selection headache solved
The loan-to-buy signing of Piero Hincapie could present a selection headache ahead of Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures. They now have three central defenders of real quality and it seems likely they will all get used over the next three games.
Arsenal’s defensive partnership is already well-established, with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba arguably the best duo in the Premier League. The arrival of Hincapie has thrown a spanner in the works, but it is a good problem to have.
The next task for Arteta will be figuring out the best way to accommodate all three players in his line-up. Hincapie is also capable of playing as a left-back, which suggests he could feature alongside Gabriel and Saliba instead of replacing one of them.
However, the Gunners are about to play three games in eight days and will almost certainly need to rotate in defence. Cristhian Mosquera will also be pushing for minutes following his arrival from Valencia on a permanent deal.