The Gunners tried all summer to make a marquee signing. Julian Alvarez was the dream target, while an ambitious move for Vinicius Jr was also made. But neither player was signed, leaving Arsenal’s attack weaker.

The priority in the two windows of 2027 is clear – Mikel Arteta needs reinforcements in attack. A new striker or a left winger, or both, would take this side to a whole new level.

Several names have been linked already, and a new one has now emerged.

Arsenal are interested in Igor Matanovic

Igor Matanovic has been one of the most impressive names in the Bundesliga for over a year now.

The Croatian striker scored 15 goals and provided four assists in his debut campaign for Freiburg last season, and he has also had a great start this term, scoring six goals and providing two assists in seven appearances.

Matanovic, still only 23, is doing exactly what’s needed at his age, and it is only a matter of time before he leaves the German side for a bigger club.

CaughtOffside have now claimed that Arsenal have been scouting the striker frequently in recent months, as have Chelsea. Manchester United have also discussed him internally.

The report claims that Matanovic would’ve been available for just £30 million last summer, but his valuation has now gone up to £50 million after his impressive start to the season.

If that figure is matched, Freiburg are not expected to stand in the player’s way and will allow him to join a bigger side in 2027. £50 million is nothing for a club like Arsenal in this day and age, but it remains to be seen if Matanovic is the type of player Arteta will approve.

Matanovic, a 14-cap Croatian international, came on as a half-time substitute against England on Saturday night and was on the wrong side of a 7-0 defeat.

If Arsenal really are keen, we’re sure they would’ve watched him play against the Three Lions.

The Arsenal number seven scored a brace, just like Harry Kane, while Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon found the net once each in the 7-0 win.

That would’ve given Saka a lot of confidence, as he hasn’t quite looked at his absolute best in recent weeks while playing for the Gunners.

The Starboy also achieved a rare feat with his brace on Saturday night.

Bukayo Saka scores right-footed brace for the first time ever

No Arsenal fan has ever really complained about Bukayo Saka’s weaker right foot.

When you look at the likes of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, an argument can be made that their weak foot is, as the name says, a weakness in their games. That isn’t the case for the Gunners’ academy graduate.

Saka has scored plenty of goals with his right foot for Arsenal and England over the years, but what he had never managed to do before was score twice with his weaker foot in a single game.

That drought ended on Saturday night, in Saka’s 378th career game.

The Arsenal superstar’s first was a tap-in from a centre-forward’s position after a cross from Bellingham. His second was a fine finish with his right foot after getting on the end of a loose ball inside the box.

That was great to see. His next challenge? Score a weak-foot hat-trick! There’s no better game to do it in than Arsenal’s next one – against Leeds United in the Premier League next weekend.

Bukayo Saka overtakes David Beckham’s England record

David Beckham is arguably the biggest name in the history of English football.

The Manchester United legend produced many iconic moments for club and country over the years, and his name will always be mentioned among the greats.

However, Beckham managed to score just 17 goals throughout his England career, despite earning 115 caps across 13 years.

Saka’s brace against Croatia helped him overtake the English icon. He is now on 19 international goals in just 59 appearances, which is very, very impressive.

The Arsenal star is widely viewed as the best goalkeeper in the world, but for his national team, he has almost always been behind Unai Simon in the pecking order.

On Saturday night, Spain boss Luis de la Fuente gave the nod to Raya, and even though he was solid for large parts of the game, there were two questionable moments.

One of them was an absolute howler.

David Raya’s embarrassing mistake was saved by the referee

Spain were expectedly dominant against Czechia in the Nations League on Saturday night.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring inside just six minutes before Rodri doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break to give Spain a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Czechia halved the deficit in the second half, and just a few moments later they came incredibly close to levelling the score after a howler from David Raya.

The Arsenal number one looked to be in control of claiming a simple catch under his crossbar after a header from a free-kick. It looked like a routine claim, but Raya dropped the ball on the goal line, and Ryan Naderi tapped it into the back of the net.

That was arguably the worst mistake of Raya’s career, but he was saved by the referee, who called a foul at the edge of the box at the moment the free-kick was taken.

That disallowed the goal and spared Raya’s blushes. The score would’ve become 2-2 had that stood, and anything could’ve happened in the final 11 minutes.

Luckily for Spain, it remained 2-1, and Mikel Merino found the net late on to seal a 3-1 win for the reigning world champions.

David Raya should’ve done better for Czechia’s goal too

Raya is usually very reliable in goal, but we’re sure he will not be too happy with his performance for Spain against Czechia.

The incident explained above would’ve been utterly humiliating had the goal stood, but his role in Jiri Slama’s goal was far from impressive.

Raya moved across to his right to cover the near post, but he was probably a step or two wider than he had to be. That opened more space, and Slama’s fierce strike flew past the goalkeeper into the back of the net.

At first glance, it does feel like Raya couldn’t have done much, but if his positioning was slightly better, we think he would’ve got a hand to the ball and deflected it behind for a corner.

The 16-year-old isn’t someone you normally associate with getting sent off, but he was given his marching orders in the 73rd minute of the game.

Since the game was played behind closed doors and not televised anywhere, fans didn’t know why the red card was shown, and that led to a lot of speculation on social media.

The most popular joke made by Arsenal fans was that Dowman nutmegged the referee, which is why he was told to leave the pitch. That, unsurprisingly, is not true.

Why Max Dowman was shown a red card for England U19s vs USA

The England U19s maintained their 100 per cent record during this international break by sealing a 2-1 win over the USA.

Max Dowman started the game, and it didn’t take long for him to impress. The Arsenal wonderkid set up Manchester City’s Reigan Heskey in the opening minute of the game.

The Americans levelled the score shortly after, but Luca Williams-Barnett scored what proved to be the winner at around the hour mark.

The biggest talking point, despite the three goals, was Dowman’s red card that reduced the Young Lions to 10 men for the final 16 minutes of the game.

The joke that he nutmegged the referee to get sent off is absolutely hilarious, but the real reason behind his dismissal remains unconfirmed.

However, a source has informed the Daily Mail that Dowman had ‘a little kick out when a player went past him’, and the referee deemed that enough for a straight red card.

That, according to a source, was a very harsh decision, but the card was shown, and Dowman had to leave the pitch as a result.

The England U19s will play their final game of this international break against Belgium on Monday. It remains to be seen if Dowman will be involved in that fixture.

There had been talk of the Gunners increasing the capacity from around 60,000 to as much as 80,000 to make their ground the biggest in London. However, that plan has been shelved now for a number of reasons.

One of the main ones is Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager did not want his side to play somewhere else for a year or two while the new stadium was being constructed. He feared that would hurt the stability Arsenal have finally found.

There are also major logistical and financial problems. The area around the Emirates is already extremely busy on matchdays, while expanding the stadium would mean dealing with local restrictions and the complicated infrastructure around the ground. It would be a huge project, and the costs could quickly get out of control.

Instead, according to The Athletic, Arsenal are going to focus on improving the stadium they already have and finding new ways to make more money from it.

Arsenal’s four-point plan to improve the Emirates Stadium after shelving 80,000-seater dream

Arsenal have improved hospitality, food and drink

Arsenal cannot keep adding thousands of seats, so one of the easiest ways to increase matchday revenue is to make more money from the seats they already have. That means improving the hospitality areas at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have already started working with Legends Global, who are now responsible for the food, drink and hospitality experience inside the stadium.

Arsenal have also introduced a new matchday food and drink experience called 1886 by Arsenal (Arsenal.com). There are new menus, more local food options, self-pour drinks and faster ways of buying food and drink around the stadium. There are also new concessions using technology to make the process quicker.

The idea is simple: Give supporters and corporate guests a better experience while also making more money from them.

Arsenal are expanding their safe standing capacity

Arsenal are also making changes to the way supporters experience matches.

Safe standing has already been introduced at the Clock End this season, with more areas set to follow. The North Bank is expected to get safe standing next term.

This gives Arsenal another way to improve the atmosphere inside the Emirates without increasing the overall stadium capacity.

It is also something plenty of Arsenal fans have wanted for a long, long time, and they are finally set to get their wish.

Arsenal will finally fix their 5G problem

Another big part of Arsenal’s plan is improving the mobile network inside the Emirates.

How many times have you gone to the stadium and struggled to send a text, make a call or even change your Fantasy Premier League team? Arsenal’s home has had problems with mobile connectivity forever, and the club are now finally working on improving the 5G network (Standard).

The aim is to make it easier for supporters to use their phones while they are at the game. That could also help with things like ordering food, buying merchandise and using Arsenal’s apps.

It may not sound like the biggest change, but better connectivity could make a big difference when 60,000 people are inside the stadium.

Arsenal want to improve the retail experience

Arsenal are also looking at their retail operation at the Emirates. There are already tens of thousands of supporters coming to the stadium every matchday, so the club want to make the most of that.

Better shops, better products and a better overall experience could help Arsenal bring in more money from supporters while they are at the stadium.

It is another way of increasing matchday revenue without having to build more seats.

No new stadium but Arsenal have chosen a smarter route

Arsenal may not be turning the Emirates into an 80,000-seater anytime soon, but the Kroenkes clearly have a different, smarter plan.

Instead of spending huge amounts of money on a major expansion, Arsenal want to get more out of the stadium they already have.

Better hospitality, improved food and drink, safe standing, better connectivity and a stronger retail experience can all help the club increase their matchday revenue.

It may not be as exciting as an 80,000-seat Emirates, but for Arsenal, it is definitely the smarter, more stable and cost-effective option right now.

The 28-year-old hasn’t started a game in the Premier League yet this season, and his performances in other competitions haven’t been great either.

That has led to reports that Gyokeres is ‘unhappy’ at Arsenal after falling behind Kai Havertz in Mikel Arteta’s pecking order, and there is a chance that he could leave in 2027.

Arsenal want more than £60m for Viktor Gyokeres

Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres for an initial fee of £55 million.

The Sweden international was one of the most prolific strikers in the world during his time at Sporting CP, and he was viewed as the man who would solve the Gunners’ goalscoring issues.

Gyokeres did score over 20 goals in his debut season in the red and white, but it is clear to see that he is not a great fit in Arteta’s system. Arsenal play much better when Havertz is leading their line.

That has alerted several clubs to a potential move in one of the next two transfer windows. Italian duo Juventus and AC Milan are two sides who are said to be keen.

Tutto Juve have revealed that Arsenal are refusing the possibility of letting Gyokeres leave on loan in the January transfer window. It has to be a permanent sale or nothing.

Andrea Berta has slapped a price tag in excess of £60 million on the striker he signed from Sporting just a little over a year ago, which seems fair considering his quality and ability.

However, that fee has complicated things for the two Italian clubs, and it now remains to be seen whether either side will make a move in the coming months.

Viktor Gyokeres has one final chance to save his Arsenal career

Havertz has suffered an injury and is unlikely to feature when Arsenal take on Leeds United after the international break.

That opens the door for Gyokeres to make his first Premier League start of the season, and this just feels like his final opportunity to nail down a place in the side.

Arsenal were already on the market for a new striker in the summer, and they are expected to push even harder in the next two windows to bring in a new number nine. That will almost certainly be to replace Gyokeres.

The only way the Swede can stop that is if he starts firing, and there’s no better time than now to do just that as Arsenal enter a busy period where they play nine games in 28 days.

The Spaniard revealed recently that he deliberately made things difficult for his players. Arteta delayed meals, changed their travel routes, made the dressing room hotter and even reduced the number of massage beds.

To someone on the outside, that sounds like self-sabotage and maybe even a bit cruel, but there was a very clever reason behind his actions.

The Arsenal manager wanted his players to get used to things going wrong. Not every pre-match routine will go flawlessly – there will be times during the season when issues will arise just before a game. The aim behind his plan was to make sure the players wouldn’t panic when something unexpected happened, and he didn’t want them to use it as an excuse later either.

That theory was tested a few weeks ago, and the Arsenal players passed it with flying colours.

Mikel Arteta’s pre-season mind games paid off when Arsenal played Napoli

Arsenal faced Napoli in their first Champions League game of the season in September, and things didn’t go to plan the day before the fixture at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Gunners were scheduled to fly to Italy, but an air traffic control problem in the United Kingdom caused a major delay. Arsenal arrived in Naples around three hours later than expected, and Arteta’s press conference was even cancelled as a result.

Those issues could’ve easily had an impact on the players, but Arsenal went out and beat Napoli 1-0, with Martin Odegaard scoring a fantastic goal in the second half.

Even though the scoreline makes it seem like a tight game, the North Londoners were dominant from start to finish. Arsenal had 26 shots at goal to Napoli’s five and generated an xG of 4.31, which is incredible in a Champions League away game.

That is exactly how Arteta wanted his players to respond when things don’t go to plan.

We’re sure he will feel vindicated about his chaotic experiment in pre-season and will now be more convinced than ever that no external factors can derail his side.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have mastered controlled chaos on the pitch too

Dealing with problems when travelling is not the only positive impact Arteta has had on this Arsenal side; it also applies to how the Gunners play as well.

Just look at the defence. Arsenal’s full-backs don’t just stay out wide.

Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie can move into midfield, go forward or move inside depending on what the game demands. The same applies on the right. Ben White and Jurrien Timber can move forward with Bukayo Saka, move inside or stay back to give Arsenal more protection.

It can look a bit messy at times, but there is a plan behind it. The players know where they need to be when someone else takes up a different position during build-up.

Kai Havertz is another great example. The German doesn’t just stay in the box and wait for crosses to come in. He drops into midfield, moves out wide, wins headers and then gets into the box when Arsenal need him.

Every player in the side knows what to do based on his movement. If Havertz drops deep, someone else can attack the space he leaves. If a full-back moves into midfield, the former Chelsea man can move further forward.

Everyone has to understand what their teammates are doing in every phase of play. That makes Arsenal extremely unpredictable and very difficult to stop.

Yes, there is a risk with playing this way. If one player gets it wrong or doesn’t cover for a teammate, Arsenal’s shape can quickly fall apart, but Arteta clearly wants his players to be able to deal with these situations. He doesn’t want the Gunners to have just one way of playing; he wants them to adapt however required – on and off the pitch.

That is exactly what happened in Naples. Their flight was delayed, their plans changed, and they arrived later than expected. But when the game started, Arsenal got on with it, played brilliantly for the most part, and most importantly, won.

That is one of the biggest things Arteta has built at Arsenal. The gaffer doesn’t just have a team with a good tactical system; he has built a side that can deal with things going wrong at any moment.

That is exactly why he made life so difficult for his players during pre-season. He wanted them to learn one simple thing: When things don’t go according to plan, don’t panic. Just adapt and carry on.

Arsene Wenger’s charges went the entire season unbeaten in the Premier League, winning or drawing all 38 games of that season and overall, going 49 unbeaten.

Arsenal, at the time, looked very much like they’d never be beaten until a trip to Old Trafford awaited them on October 24th, 2004. At that point in history, Arsenal v Man United was very much the big fixtures in English football and tempers had already boiled over the season prior.

However, on this occasion, it would prove a bridge too far for Arsenal and ultimately, the unbeaten 49 match run would come to an end in dramatic fashion on and off the pitch.

Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run ended by Manchester United

There was a steely determination about this United side under Sir Alex Ferguson. It was almost as if Ferguson refused to let his big rivals and rival manager get to number 50 on home turf. And so it played out that way.

A Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty from a more than contentious penalty call from a clash between Sol Campbell and Wayne Rooney set United on their way, before Rooney himself converted in the 90th minute to put the Gunners to bed and end things once and for all.

However, the scoreline is really only half the story.

Arsenal felt the entire game was reffed to a poor standard, with Mike Riley under constant pressure from United’s players over the 90 minutes and a number of big calls going against the Gunners. Further, things also boiled over after the game, with one of the most infamous post-match incidents taking place.

Cesc Fabregas and the famous ‘Pizzagate’

There were reports at the time of a huge fracas in the tunnel at Old Trafford, with tempers boiling over and both sides coming to blows.

Naturally, it was the Arsenal squad who came off looking worse, with many suggesting sour grapes.

Of course, the big headline at the time was news of Sir Alex Ferguson being struck by some flying pizza, a story which – for over a decade – seemed to take different turns in terms of who was responsible.

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However, eventually, Gunners legend and current FC Como boss Cesc Fabregas admitted that it was indeed him who was guilty.

Yes,” responded on A League of their Own when asked if he did it. “All of a sudden, I heard noises [in the tunnel] and I thought what’s happening? So I go out with my slice of pizza and I saw Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown. Everyone pushing each other.”

“I was like I want to get involved but I don’t know how to and I just threw it. Once I saw who it was hitting… well, I didn’t mean it. I apologise Sir Alex, I really didn’t mean to do that!”

Nowadays, it seems unimaginable that we’d see such issues after a game and if there were, the amount of cameras and phones around would capture things.

Still, it’s always worth harking back to this rivalry and remembering just how bitter things got at its peak.

The Gunners are the reigning Premier League champions, and if it weren’t for a bit of bad luck, they would be the champions of Europe as well.

Arsenal have some of the world’s top talents in their squad – just this week Ian Wright argued that Declan Rice was the third best player in the world.

Now, speaking to TNT Sports, Mikel Merino has claimed that another key Arsenal figure is undoubtedly one of the world’s best.

Mikel Merino says Mikel Arteta is one of the world’s best

Merino spoke about Arteta and his relationship with the Arsenal manager.

The midfielder says that he feels honoured and blessed to work with Arteta, claiming that he is unarguably one of the best managers in the world.

“He’s very good. I mean I’m really honoured and blessed to you know share the pitch with him every single day. He is probably unarguably one of the best managers in the in the world and because I personally love football and I don’t know if in the future I would like to become a coach every single day I take the chance of you know  absorbing like a sponge everything that he says,’ Merino said.

“He’s an open book and he always wants to make people understand what his vision is and as a club we are really happy to have.”

It’s impossible to argue against the idea of Arteta being one of the world’s best at this point.

There’s been an exodus of elite managers from the club game in recent years with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti all leaving their club jobs.

Arteta is now one of the world’s elite coaches, and he’s set to sign a new contract with Arsenal that will reflect that status in the coming weeks.

Granit Xhaka was a seriously underrated player, Declan Rice has been tipped as a Ballon d’Or contender recently, while Myles Lewis-Skelly is growing into a fine footballer it has to be said.

Interestingly, speaking to the Premier League, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has named another former Arsenal midfielder as his most difficult opponent ever.

The Everton star has had some very difficult midfield battles over the years, but according to the former Chelsea ace, Jorginho is the toughest opponent he has ever faced.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall names Jorginho as his toughest opponent

Dewsbury-Hall was answering a number of quickfire questions about his career so far when he was asked to name his toughest opponent.

The Everton ace could’ve picked from a number of Premier League greats, from Kevin De Bruyne to Bruno Fernandes. But Dewsbury-Hall reckons Jorginho is the best of the bunch.

“Who’s the hardest player that you’ve come up against?” Dewsbury-Hall was asked.

“The rogue one that I always said that you wouldn’t expect is Jorginho. He can’t sprint really, he’s not strong, but he would make 150 passes per game and you can’t get near it. It’s just so frustrating,” Dewsbury-Hall said.

Jorginho was an important cog at Arsenal during his time at the Emirates, and there were many a game where he ran the show without breaking a sweat.

When you look at Dewsbury-Hall’s record against Jorginho, you can see why he found him so frustrating.

Dewsbury-Hall has never won a game against Jorginho in his career, and, as he says, he’s had a very frustrating time against the Italy international over the years.

Jorginho may no longer be an Arsenal player, but he remains one of the smartest footballers to play in the Premier League over the past decade or so.