Daily Cannon

Sky Sports pundits have argued that Gabriel Magalhaes fouled Cristian Romero in the build-up to his goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Sky Sports pundits Les Ferdinand and Paul Merson looked at Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with a particular focus on the build-up to the header.

Before jumping for the ball, Gabriel pushed Cristian Romero as the Spurs defender tried to block his run. With Romero out of the way, it was a free header and a simple goal.

But the question was raised as to whether the contact was enough for a free-kick to be given.

“If a centre-forward does that, the referee gives a foul against him,” Ferdinand said. “They (VAR) don’t even look at it.

“He does need to be stronger, it’s poor defending, but he does get a shove in his back.”

“I’d be disappointed if I didn’t get a foul,” Merson added. “He’s in the wrong position, everything’s wrong about his defending…[but] I’d expect a foul.”

The comments are interesting, given they’re in direct contrast to what fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said about a reverse incident involving Gabriel last season.

On that occasion, Newcastle United’s Joelinton pushed Gabriel to the ground to get to the ball, but Neville argued that it wasn’t a foul.

“There’s an angle where it looks like a foul because Joelinton’s got his arms out, but that’s not a foul for me,” Neville said. “Gabriel’s thrown himself forward…for me, that isn’t a foul.

“In the end, there’s no conclusive evidence. There was nothing that told me strongly enough that that wasn’t a goal.”

Arsenal fans will be pleased that they’re on the other side of the decision this time around, even if the Sky pundits continue to suggest the calls should have gone against them.

Bukayo Saka’s early exit from Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur sparked concerns, with the talented winger seen limping off late in the game.

However, reports suggest that Saka’s substitution was due to cramp rather than a serious injury, and Arsenal are hopeful that he will be fit to play in their upcoming fixtures against Atalanta and Manchester City.

Cramp is a common issue in football, particularly for players like Saka who are regularly involved in high-intensity matches. It occurs when muscles become fatigued, often due to dehydration, overuse, or electrolyte imbalances, and it can cause temporary but painful contractions.

While cramp isn’t considered a serious injury, it can restrict a player’s ability to continue, as was the case with Saka on Sunday.

In recent weeks, Saka’s workload has been particularly demanding. In less than a month, he has played six matches, including four for Arsenal and two for England during the international break.

This has amounted to a total of 500 minutes on the pitch: 344 minutes across four matches for Arsenal and another 156 minutes for England.

Given that Saka only appeared twice in pre-season, the rapid increase in match time may have taken a toll on his muscles, making him more susceptible to cramping.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed uncertainty following the match, saying, “I don’t know [what Saka’s problem is]. I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down. I don’t know exactly what it is but he could not continue.”

Despite Arteta’s cautious comments, reports from The Standard suggest that Arsenal are confident the issue is not serious, and that Saka’s removal was largely precautionary.

Saka’s resilience on the pitch is well-known, as he has built a reputation for his remarkable fitness and consistency.

Since breaking into the Arsenal first team, Saka has been a constant presence, rarely sidelined for extended periods.

Although he has experienced some minor setbacks – such as a thigh injury in October 2023 that kept him out for 18 days and an unspecified injury in March 2024 that sidelined him for 16 days – Saka has generally managed to avoid long-term injuries.

Other knocks, like a dead leg in 2021 and a minor hamstring strain in 2020, only kept him out for a few days at a time, underscoring his ability to recover quickly.

This season, Saka’s form has been pivotal for Arsenal. He has either scored or assisted in every match for the club, a testament to his importance in Mikel Arteta’s setup.

His assist was vital during the intense North London derby, where Saka took the corner from which Gabriel scored, before being forced off late on.

The physical demands on Saka have been immense, especially with the added pressure of international duty. In the recent international break, he played two full matches for England, which compounded the workload he was already carrying at Arsenal. The quick turnaround between games, along with his limited pre-season action, likely contributed to his cramp against Tottenham.

As Arsenal prepare for their Europa League clash against Atalanta and a crucial Premier League meeting with Manchester City, Saka’s availability will be vital.

The Gunners will be hoping their star winger can recover fully in time for these fixtures.

Arsenal‘s next training session, scheduled to be open to the media, will provide a clearer picture of Saka’s fitness.

If he participates, it will confirm the cramp was a minor issue. However, if he is absent, it may suggest the situation is more concerning than initially thought.

Saka‘s ability to stay fit, even with his heavy match load, has been a significant factor in Arsenal’s success in recent years. While his recent cramp scare might serve as a reminder of the physical toll professional football can take, Arsenal are hopeful this will not hinder his participation in the crucial upcoming matches.

Cristian Romero has been sharing excuses from journalists in his home country after he lost yet another north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday.

On Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero played in his fifth north London derby against Arsenal, and his team made it four defeats in those five games after failing to score against a Mikel Arteta side ravaged by injuries.

The best result Romero has ever had against the Gunners was last year’s draw at the Emirates Stadium. Other than that, his team have lost every single time he’s been in the squad.

Romero appears to be starting to take that fact personally, and he logged onto Twitter to share excuses on Sunday evening.

Argentine journalist Gaston Edul posted after the game that Arsenal had an advantage in the match because Tottenham Hotspur were the only Premier League team to get their players to organise their own way home from international duty.

Edul suggested this meant Spurs players got less rest ahead of the game, before adding that Romero played with a ‘feverish’ profile.

Romero reposted the post on his own profile, before later deleting it. Perhaps it doesn’t go down too well with your club if you share criticisms of them after a derby defeat.

Arsenal fans are unlikely to be very sympathetic with Romero feeling a little sleepy and having a bit of a cold.

The Gunners were missing Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Kieran Tierney for the game, while their opponents were only without £60m flop Richarlison and Yves Bissouma.

Arteta’s team could have used that as an excuse to lose the game, but they just won it instead.

Kai Havertz says he doesn’t speak to Tottenham Hotspur players, as he prepares to start in the north London derby for Arsenal.

Kai Havertz has made himself a bit of a fan favourite at Arsenal in 2024, after early criticism of his move from Chelsea to the Gunners.

What started as fan defensiveness, backing their player through a tough time, eventually evolved into a genuine belief that the club have a great option up front in Havertz.

That was helped along by goals and assists against Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester United in the final five games of last season.

On top of his on-pitch performances, Havertz is saying all the right things in the media as well.

Speaking to AFCnewsroom, Havertz was asked about his relationship with fellow German international Timo Werner, currently of Tottenham Hotspur.

In response, Havertz answered simply: “I don’t speak to Spurs players now.”

Havertz has 18 goals and assists in his last 17 competitive games for Arsenal, a fantastic recent run of form.

The 25-year-old will hope to add to the goal and assist he got at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April with another contribution or two on Sunday afternoon.

Richarlison has hinted that Tottenham Hotspur teammate Dominic Solanke is fit to face Arsenal, though he himself is expected to miss the game.

Richarlison and Dominic Solanke have both been out injured for Tottenham Hotspur recently, and whilst the former isn’t expected to return in time to face Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby, he’s hinted that Solanke might make his return.

Solanke celebrated his 27th birthday on Saturday, and in response to his Instagram post, Richarlison tipped Heung-min Son to provide him with an assist against Arsenal, saying: “Sonny will give you a gift tomorrow bro.”

The striker is yet to score or assist for his new club, blanking against Leicester City and then missing the following two matches through injury. He’ll want to get off the mark against Arsenal.

Ange Postecoglou had suggested that fellow injury doubt Micky van de Ven would be fit and available, but he’d been a little more vague on Solanke.

“Micky’s good, he’s trained all the way through the international break and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he’s ready to go,” Postecoglou said.

“Dom’s improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys so hopefully they get through training ok and are available.”

As mentioned, Richarlison is set to miss the match, but it seems Yves Bissouma is the only other potential injury absentee for Spurs.

Bissouma picked up a knock on international duty, and Postecoglou suggested he’s a doubt for the match.

“Everyone’s reporting all well except for Biss,” Postecoglou said. “He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.

“It’s not serious, but he’s getting treatment today. We’ll see how it goes.”

Rumours are circling that Arsenal could be set to start Ethan Nwaneri in the north London derby this weekend, according to the BBC’s Mark Chapman.

Speaking to the BBC’s Planet Premier League podcast, Mark Chapman suggested that there are rumours going around that Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri could be set to start against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

“At the other end of the scale as we move onto the north London derby, there are rumours going around at the moment, and these may be quashed by the time the game comes around,” Chapman said (via CaughtOffside).

“They have some issues in midfield Arsenal, Declan Rice is suspended, Martin Odegaard picked up an injury during the week, their signing in the summer, Merino is already injured.

“So there are these rumours that they may start a 17-year-old, Ethan Nwaneri.”

As Chapman mentions, Arsenal have issues in midfield. With Declan Rice suspended, and Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino injured, the Gunners’ options in the middle are looking thin.

Fabio Vieira (loan) and Emile Smith Rowe (permanent) both left the club this summer, further decreasing Mikel Arteta’s list of alternatives to Odegaard.

Arteta still has a few midfielders available in Jorginho, Thomas Partey, and Kai Havertz, but the question is whether that makes a particularly balanced central trio.

Nwaneri is the more natural replacement for Odegaard on the right, he’s just a very inexperienced one.

This isn’t the first time there have been suggestions that Nwaneri might play an increased first-team role at Arsenal this season.

Reports had previously hinted that Nwaneri might be set to step into the space vacated by Smith Rowe and Vieira, who both got minutes as backups for Arsenal last season.

Two goals on England youth duty over the international break prove that Nwaneri is in good form as well.

But it was expected that those first-team Arsenal minutes would be available in League Cup ties or games against struggling relegation clubs, not away to Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite Chapman’s claims, it doesn’t seem particularly likely Arteta will throw Nwaneri in for his first-ever start away to Spurs. Time will tell.

Yves Bissouma is a doubt to face Arsenal after an injury on international duty, with a least one more Spurs player set to miss the game.

Yves Bissouma was forced out of Mali’s match against Eswatini in the 65th minute on Tuesday, after being hit with a heavy tackle.

The Mirror report that Bissouma is now a doubt to face Arsenal on Sunday due to the injury. Ben Dinnery reports that Bissouma will be assessed ahead of the derby after limping off the pitch on international duty.

Richarlison is also expected to miss the Arsenal match through injury, after picking up an injury in training last month.

The only other two injury doubts at Spurs are around Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke, both of whom missed their last game against Newcastle United.

But Ange Postecoglou was pretty clear at the time that both players were close to featuring in that match, and that their injuries weren’t serious.

It seems van de Ven and Solanke were only held back against Newcastle as a precaution, so they should both be available against Arsenal. There are just no guarantees at this stage.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged by the FA for misconduct, but he won’t miss their game against Arsenal.

Sky Sports News report that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.

It is alleged that he acted in an improper manner and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

It’s further alleged that this constitutes an “aggravated breach” which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.

The charge relates to an interview Bentancur held with Uruguayan TV show Por La Camiseta all the way back in June, when he suggested all people from South Korea “looked the same”.

The player apologised on his Instagram page, calling the comments “just a very bad joke”, but if the FA charges are proven, he’ll presumably receive a ban.

Yet Bentancur won’t miss Spurs’ derby game against Arsenal this weekend. He has until Thursday, September 19th to respond to the charge, so there’s zero prospect of a ban being implemented before that date.

The long delay between Bentancur’s June comments and the FA’s eventual decision to charge him in September has effectively ensured that he’ll be available to face the Gunners.

Whether he’ll start the match remains to be seen. Bentancur played 78 minutes of Spurs’ opening game against Leicester City, missed their match against Everton with a head injury, then played just eight minutes as a substitute against Newcastle United.

Arsenal have been instructed to wear their away kit for this weekend’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, a decision stemming from a colour clash deemed problematic by the Premier League and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

For the first time in 38 years, Arsenal will don their away strip at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, instead of their traditional red-and-white home kit.

The issue arises from the new Arsenal home shirt, which the Premier League and PGMOL have ruled features too much white, clashing with Tottenham’s predominantly white home kit.

Arsenal had attempted to reach a compromise by proposing to wear their red shorts and socks with the home shirt, but this solution was rejected by the authorities.

The decision is driven by the ridiculous concern that the white elements in Arsenal’s home kit could create confusion during the match, despite the fact that Tottenham’s current strip includes significant amounts of blue on the side of the shirt, sleeves and shorts.

The Arsenal home kit for the 2024/25 season includes more white than its predecessors, a design choice aimed at modernising the classic red shirt.

However, the increased white panelling has been judged sufficient to warrant a change for this fixture. This ruling means that Arsenal’s distinctive red kit will not be seen in the derby, a significant departure from tradition.

Arsenal’s away kit, which will be worn instead, is a black design created in collaboration with adidas and the British African heritage brand Labrum London. This kit has been praised for celebrating the club’s connection with the African diaspora in North London and beyond. The black away strip has already seen success, worn when Arsenal claimed victory against Aston Villa last month.

This decision not only impacts Arsenal but also has implications for Tottenham’s future fixtures. Spurs will be required to wear their away kit when they visit the Emirates Stadium in January, ensuring that the same colour clash issue is avoided.

The ruling reflects a strict approach to kit clashes, which the Premier League and PGMOL argue is necessary to prevent any potential confusion during matches. While the decision has sparked some debate among fans and pundits, who view it as overly stringent, the authorities have stood by their choice.

Arsenal’s preparations for a crucial week, beginning with the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, have been overshadowed by a series of significant injury concerns leaving the club counting the cost of the Interlull.

Manager Mikel Arteta will have to navigate these challenges as the Gunners also face Atalanta in the Champions League and Manchester City in the Premier League, making the next few days pivotal for the club’s season.

Arsenal’s injury list has grown significantly over the international break and includes several key players whose absence could impact the team’s performance.

Kieran Tierney, recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during Euro 2024, has resumed individual training. The Scotland international has been sharing updates on his progress via social media, showing he is running on the pitch at London Colney.

Despite this positive sign, Tierney is not yet participating in full team sessions. He is expected to return by the end of September or early October, potentially in time for Arsenal’s League Cup match against Bolton on September 25.

In a more uncertain situation is Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since pre-season. Arteta indicated nearly a month ago that Tomiyasu’s recovery would take several weeks, but no specific return date has been confirmed.

The Japanese defender’s absence continues to be a concern for Arteta as the team faces a grueling schedule.

Gabriel Jesus, another crucial player for Arsenal, is making strides in his recovery from a groin injury sustained during pre-season.

There is hope that Jesus could return to action in time for the Tottenham clash on September 15, 2024. His presence would be a significant boost for Arsenal, given the critical nature of the upcoming fixtures. Despite Kai Havertz’s commendable form, Jesus’s return would provide much-needed support in Arsenal’s attacking lineup.

Midfielder Mikel Merino, who joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad, is also on the injury list with a fractured shoulder.

Merino sustained the injury in training before making his debut, and reports suggest he may be out for a minimum of six weeks. This extended absence will see Merino miss key matches, including those against Tottenham, Manchester City, and in the Champions League.

Adding to Arsenal’s defensive concerns is Riccardo Calafiori, who recently joined the team.

The 22-year-old defender suffered a calf injury while playing for Italy in their UEFA Nations League match against France. Initially, the injury was considered minor, but further evaluations revealed it to be more severe.

Calafiori has been sent back to London for further assessment, and the timeline for his return remains unclear.

Finally, captain Martin Ødegaard’s situation is also precarious. Ødegaard sustained an ankle sprain during Norway’s 2-1 Nations League win over Austria on September 9, 2024. The injury occurred after a tangle with Austrian midfielder Christoph Baumgartner.

Ødegaard was visibly emotional as he was helped off the pitch by teammate Erling Haaland. Although Norwegian team doctor Ola Sand described the injury as a small ankle sprain, Ødegaard’s availability for the upcoming derby and other fixtures is uncertain.

Then, of course, we have Declan Rice, who is suspended for teh game against Tottenham after his ridiculous red card in the final game before the break.

The Gunners’ ability to secure results in these matches will depend on how quickly injured players can return to fitness and how well the remaining squad members can step up. As it stands, Arsenal’s midfield looks set to be decimated for the game against Tottenham.

Arsenal fans will be watching closely for updates on the recovery of their key players as the team faces one of the most important weeks of the season.