ARSENAL face Chelsea on Sunday in a HUGE London derby, with it all up for grabs.
The league leaders will be hoping to continue their impressive form but will face a familiar face in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The forward will be hoping to show Mikel Arteta what he is missing out on after the pair clashed before Aubameyang left Arsenal.
Meanwhile, it's more good news for Arteta's side, who look set to have Bukayo Saka fit for their clash with Chelsea at the weekend.
Saka came on as a sub in the win over Zurich, and is poised to start against the Blues.
Elsewhere, the Gunners have been handed a blow in their pursuit of Youri Tielemans, with Leicester City opening contract talks with the midfielder.
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Follow ALL of the latest updates below…
- Tony Robertson
Arsenal suffer Tielemans blow
Arsenal have suffered a blow to their pursuit of Youri Tielemans after Leicester City opened up contract talks.
According to the Daily Mail, The Foxes are confident of signing the Belgium up to a new deal.
Arsenal were extensively linked with the 25-year-old over the summer and still lack depth in central midfield.
But now it seems they will fail not be able to sign Tielemans anytime soon.
Manager Brendan Rodgers praised his work ethic and revealed contract talks were underway – with the midfielder’s contract due to expire in 2023.
He told reporters: “He provides the team with great know-how in the game and is a wonderful player to work with. He has been a fantastic professional for us.
“Even with his contract situation, he has never wavered from his mentality and what he gives to the team.
“I will continue to work and develop his game here for however long that is. If he is to sign another deal and continue his journey at Leicester, we will see in the coming months.”
- Tony Robertson
Arsenal potential line up
Chelsea host Arsenal in what is sure to be a heated affair on Sunday.
Arsenal go to Stamford Bridge at the weekend with their status at league leaders on the line with a two-point gap to Manchester City.
But Mikel Arteta's side are expected to fully fit for the London derby.
The only real selection headache for Arteta is who will replace Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back.
However, with Oleksandr Zinchenko back in training it may even prompt a return for the Ukrainian.
You can have a look at SunSport's predictions here.
- Kiro Evans
Stamford Bridge Record
Whisper it quietly, but Arsenal have often enjoyed their trips to Chelsea in recent years.
Once a threatening fortress, the Gunners have turned Stamford Bridge into a ground where three points is very much on the table.
The last time Arsenal lost at the Bridge was in August 2018, back when Maurizio Sarri was in charge – three Chelsea managers ago.
Arsenal have only lost one of their last five trips, with that spell including their sensational 4-2 win in April and and their battling 10-man display in 2020 when Hector Bellerin got a late equaliser for a 2-2 draw.
It's quite the contrast between 2013 and 2017, when Arsenal lost on five on the bounce away at Chelsea.
- Kiro Evans
Don't Mess with Mik
Ruthless Mikel Arteta terrified the Arsenal dressing-room with the no-nonsense way he dumped dissenting captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.
And as the table-topping Gunners prepare for a first reunion with Auba on Sunday, veteran long-serving midfielder Mo Elneny claims the striker’s departure was the moment that Arteta completely established his authority.
The Egyptian said: “When Mikel took the captaincy from Auba, it was 100 percent the moment he established himself.
“After what he did to the captain of the team, everyone looked at themselves and asked 'what is he going to do with the other players?'
“Everyone was scared about their position after what happened with Aubameyang. If a player who is not the captain makes a small mistake, he is going to have the same problem. And no-one needs that."
- Kiro Evans
A Big Bridge Battle
It's always tasty when Chelsea and Arsenal meet but perhaps no more so than this year.
A mini power shift has taken place in London, with the Gunners replacing the Blues as the main challengers to Manchester City and Liverpool. Meanwhile Chelsea have spent much of the season tip-toeing through games with Graham Potter still yet to quite make it all click together at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal win on Sunday and they will take a surely insurmountable 13 point lead over Chelsea and damage their top 4 hopes even further.
But if Chelsea scrap their way victory, it could inflict a huge blow to Arsenal's confidence and will potentially allow Man City to take over the league leadership if they beat Fulham.
- Kiro Evans
Wil I Never
Barcelona and Juventus have reportedly joined the race to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.
The Ivory Coast ace, 29, is out of contract next summer.
Chelsea and Arsenal are both interested in a free transfer swoop.
But foreign clubs have the advantage over Palace’s domestic rivals.
That’s because they can open contract talks with Zaha as early as January.
And the Standard claims Barcelona and Juventus are now considering swoops in the new year.
- Kiro Evans
October Nominations
Arsenal's strong start to the season once again sees them right in the mix for the monthly Premier League nominations.
Mikel Arteta is fighting it out with Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe's Newcastle for the Manager of the Month award.
Granit Xhaka is among eight players nominated for the Player of the Month alongside the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Man City pair Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.
And Thomas Partey is among those contesting the Goal of the Month competition after his long-range strike against Tottenham.
- Kiro Evans
Arteta's Special 150
Mikel Arteta will take charge of his 150th game for Arsenal when they travel to Chelsea on Sunday.
The Spanish boss took over the club in December 2019 and has been through a series of ups and downs since then.
But things certainly seem positive at the moment with the club top of the league with 10 wins from 12 games.
The Blues will be looking to ruin Arteta's special day and halt the Gunner's relentless start to the season.
- Kiro Evans
Gab will come Good
Mikel Arteta said he is not worried about "amazing" Gabriel Jesus – despite the striker's eight game run with scoring.
The goal-shy striker always puts in a shift but hasn't quite found the net as often as he would like, including in last night's win over FC Zurich.
But Arteta said he is sure there are goals just around the corner for the star.
He told BT Sport last night: "It does bother him for sure. Knowing him, when he scores two he wants to score four. Today he had a couple of good chances as well, but what he generates for the team is amazing.
"Last week he gave three assists, today he was involved in every action again. The goals will come."
- Kiro Evans
Tomiyasu Latest
Arsenal and Japan were left sweating over the fitness of Takehiro Tomiyasu after he limped off in the Europa League game against FC Zurich last night.
The full-back came on as a substitute but limped off before the end as Mikel Arteta admitted he did not know how bad the injury was.
Tomiyasu is set to go to the World Cup with Japan later this month.
The Gunners boss said last night: "We don’t know yet [how bad it is].
"He felt something and we didn’t want to take any risks. With the amount of games that we’re playing, it’s part of it.
"It can happen in training, it can happen in games and unfortunately it happened to Tomi today. The rest of the players have to be ready because we’re going to need everybody now."
- Kiro Evans
Emery's Return
Ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery will be in the dugout for Aston Villa's home game against Manchester United on Sunday.
It's been almost three years since he was dismissed as Gunners boss after just over a year.
The Spaniard had the difficult task of taking over from Arsene Wenger and trying to reunite the fanbase after several turbulent years at the Emirates.
His reign began with defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea before he took the club on a 14 game unbeaten league run.
An end of season collapse – where Arsenal lost four of their last seven games – saw the club finish 5th, a point behind rivals Spurs.
Arsenal would only lose three of their first 13 games the next season but Emery was sacked in late November after a Europa League defeat at home to Frankfurt.
Mikel Arteta will face off with his predecessor at Villa Park in mid-February.
- Kiro Evans
I'm Bohind You
Arsenal's bid for the title found an unlikely supporter last night – beaten FC Zurich boss Bo Henriksen.
The Swiss club lost their fifth game out of six last night and finished bottom of their Europa League group after defeat at the Emirates.
Despite the loss, Henriksen has said he would like to see table-toppers Arsenal wrap up their first title since 2004.
He said: "Of course Arsenal is a fantastic side, there's no doubt about that. At the end of the day it could be fun to see them win the championship [Premier League].
"It's a long time since they did that last time, so it's about time. It's a great team, we knew that from the beginning."
- Kiro Evans
Match Ratings
Mikel Arteta named a strong side to overcome FC Zurich last night and finish group winners in the Europa League.
Kieran Tierney's goal was enough for the three points.
And while Gabriel Jesus made it eight games without a goal, Ben White's performance may have proved to be a big boost to his World Cup hopes.
SunSport's full match ratings of each Arsenal player can be read here.
- Kiro Evans
Work of Art
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insisted the club will "look at everything" in the January transfer window to keep up their Premier League title charge.
The Gunners spent just under £120million in the summer window on five new faces.
Arteta is keen to keep up momentum and continue to push for the Prem title until the very end – but admitted the January window is difficult.
He said: "The planning of that period is extremely difficult. First of all because we know the January window, how special it is, the opportunities that you have, the short window that you have.
“And obviously with the position that we are in right now as well, it demands as well another level of player – and that player has to be available.
"We will look at everything and let’s see what we can do.”
- Kiro Evans
Arteta to hand outcast chance
Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson is ‘back in the frame again’ following his impressive performance against Nottingham Forest, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
The 22-year-old has found his opportunities limited at the Emirates Stadium in recent years but could now be set to feature prominently in Mikel Arteta’s plans for the remainder of the campaign.
In an interview with GiveMeSport, Sheth said: “He’s back in the frame again.
“And to come on for someone like Saka where the crowd would have been really, really worried about how long Saka is out for, and particularly even for that game, and then to come on and score two goals, I think it would have appeased a lot of people.
“Because I think there is a player in there that Arsenal obviously haven’t seen enough of, and I think whenever he’s been out on loan and played well, a lot of the Arsenal fans have said, ‘let’s give this kid a chance because he’s got something’.”
- Kiro Evans
Euro Stars
Arsenal got the job done against FC Zurich last night to head straight into the Europa League Last 16.
Unlike Manchester United, the Gunners have swerved the extra play-off round against the Champions League drop-outs and can avoid thinking about Europe until March.
Kieran Tierney's first goal of the season was enough for the three points and Arsenal can now think about their huge trip to Stamford Bridge instead.
Read about all the action from the Emirates last night here.
- Joshua Mbu
Morning, Arsenal fans
Boss Mikel Arteta and match-winner Kieran Tierney admitted graft more than craft earned the Gunners victory over Zurich and top spot in their Europa League group.
Tierney smashed the only goal early on to boost his chances of regaining a more regular place in Arteta's Premier League plans.
The left-back said: “We wanted to get the game done by 60-70 minutes ands score a couple of goals but we never done that.
“I thought we saw the game out. They put a lot of pressure on us but we saw it out well."
And Arteta's verdict? "Job done. I don't think it was the prettiest game we have played but we managed to win it.
"We know how important it is going to be with all the teams playing in February. Winning helps winning."
It comes as Arteta confirmed he's looking to boost his Prem table-topping squad in the January transfer window.
He said: “We know the January window, how special it is, the opportunities that you have, the short window that you have.
“And obviously with the position that we are in right now as well, it demands as well another level of player."
The Spaniard also insists he's confident of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba signing new long contracts.
Lastly, Real Madrid are rated Arsenal's most serious rivals for £87million-rated Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
- Ian Tuckey
Arteta not worried by Jesus drought
Mikel Arteta is not worrying about Gabriel Jesus going eight games without a goal – but the £45million striker is.
The Arsenal boss was relieved to complete a scrappy 1-0 Europa League against FC Zurich to secure top spot in their group, thanks to Kieran Tierney's fine strike.
And Arteta said: “Not scoring does bother Gabby for sure. When he scores two, he wants to score four.
“Today he had a couple of good chances, but what he generates for the team is amazing. Last week he gave three assists. Tonight he was involved in every action.
“But things are going to change. He’s getting the chances, contributing to the team an awful lot and helping us to win matches with the incredible way he competes for every single ball.
“He just needs to stay patient because he’s been through these spells before and needs to learn those lessons.
“But he cannot stop doing the things he does so well because that will maintain the level of him and the team.
“Tonight we had some big chances that we didn’t put away and that made the game more difficult in the last 2o minutes.
“We had to dig in and we found a way to get the win and finish top of the group, so job done.”
- Ian Tuckey
Gunners snubbed Grimaldo
Arsenal had the chance to land Benfica full-back Alejandro Grimaldo in the summer – but turned down the chance.
The highly-rated defender has long been linked to some of Europe’s biggest clubs and rumours intensified in the summer of a transfer to the Emirates.
But Arsenal reportedly rejected the chance to sign him and favoured Oleksandr Zinchenko instead.
That’s according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano via Caught Offside, as he reports the Gunners were offered Grimaldo before turning him down.
But “many clubs” continue to follow the star and a potential move is still on the table.
- Ian Tuckey
Not pretty' admits Arteta
Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal's 1-0 win over Zurich to clinch top spot in their Europa League group didn't go as he hoped.
The Gunners' boss told BT Sport: "Job done. I don't think it was the prettiest game we have played but we manage to win it.
"Today was really important. We know how important it is going to be with all the teams playing in February. Winning helps winning.
"The atmosphere in the dressing room is much better after a win than a loss."
- Ian Tuckey
Kieran vows to fight for more starts
Arsenal scorer Kieran Tierney says his only aim is to regain his regular place after seeing off Zurich.
Summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko largely usurped the injury-hit Scot in the Premier League.
But after this Europa League winner tonight Tierney told BT Sport:"I want to play every game I can. I have to keep working hard.
"The manager knows I will give 100% whether I start or not."
And he shrugged off a late knock by adding: "I'm all good. Just a swollen ankle but it will be fine."
- Ian Tuckey
Tierney: We did our job
Matchwinner Kieran Tierney admits Arsenal hoped to kill off Zurich.
Tierney smashed an early winner as the Gunners held on to beat PSV to top their Europa League group.
But he told BT Sport: "We wanted to get the game done by 60-70 minutes ands score a couple of goals, but we never done that.
"I thought we saw the game out. They put a lot of pressure on us but we saw it out well.
"We had to show fight and hunger because they came here with so much of that. We knew they would.
"Their last couple of results have been good so they have grown in confidence. We dealt quite well, it's just a pity we couldn't score a couple more."
- Ian Tuckey
HMS Wag making waves on way to Qatar
EXCLUSIVE: A luxury liner to be used as England’s Wags’ World Cup base was tonight steaming towards Qatar — but no players will be allowed on board, write PAUL SIMS and ROBIN PERRIE.
Ace Jack Grealish, 27, and girlfriend Sasha Attwood, 25, and others will be kept apart as the Three Lions live in a strict hotel Covid bubble away from MSC World Europa.
MSC World Europa’s maiden voyage saw it inching through the Suez Canal yesterday.
The £1billion 205,700-tonne floating palace boasts six swimming pools, a 643ft promenade, 14 ocean-view whirlpools, 13 dining venues and more than 30 bars and cafes.
There is also an 11-deck high helter skelter called The Venom Drop — the tallest slide on any ship in the world.
The liner left a French shipyard nine days ago, where 2,000 workers put finishing touches to its posh interior.
Footballers’ wives and girlfriends are expected to be among 6,762 guests in 2,633 cabins. Five-star packages to stay on board while the vessel is docked off the coast of Doha cost up to £6,000.
But no players will be allowed on board. On arrival the England squad will be immediately placed in a strict Covid bubble at Doha’s Souq Al Wakra hotel.
- Ian Tuckey
How the subs rated
Thomas Partey (for Elneny, 63mins) – 6
Broke up play effectively and was a commanding presence as Arsenal held onto their 1-0 advantage.
Bukayo Saka (for Jesus, 63mins) – 5
Provided an injection of pace without being able to find a key pass or shot to increase the Arsenal lead.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (for White, 73mins) – 6
Dealt well with Zurich's pressure for ten minutes before going off injured.
- Ian Tuckey
Rest of the starting XI
Eddie Nketiah – 7
A constant thorn in the side of Zurich playing down Arsenal's left flank. He almost got on the scoresheet when his near-post header from a corner was well saved.
Was a little quiet in the second half until he moved centrally, but Arsenal carved out few chances for the striker.
Gabriel Jesus – 6
Handed the captain's armband in the absence of Martin Odegaard but his problems in front of goal continued.
He fluffed his lines on several occasions against Nottingham Forest and somehow had an effort from four yards saved when it looked easier to score.
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