Men

Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 with three goals in seven second-half minutes

Jurrien Timber lifted Arsenal in front on 64 minutes, Eberechi Eze added a second three minutes later and substitute Bukayo Saka made it three on 71. It was a 14th straight win in the Champions League league phase.

Also covered by The Guardian and The Independent.

Arsenal life president Ken Friar dies aged 92

Friar joined Arsenal in 1945 as an 11-year-old messenger, became club secretary in 1973 and managing director in 1983, and drove the move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium. The players wore black armbands against Lille and Mikel Arteta dedicated the win to him.

Also covered by The Athletic and The Independent.

Hincapie out for weeks, Zubimendi could return at Nottingham Forest

Arteta said a scan on Monday showed Piero Hincapie's ankle injury will keep him out for a matter of weeks, while Martin Zubimendi is much better and may be fit for Sunday at Forest. Both were hurt in the warm-down after the Leeds win.

Also covered by The Athletic and The Independent.

Arteta challenged Saka to score two or three goals a game

Arteta set the target in his pre-match press conference and then joked to Saka that he had just killed him in front of the media. Saka had been unwell, was not fit to start, and came off the bench to score and assist.

Also covered by Evening Standard and The Athletic.

Bayern Munich's Michael Olise is suspended for next week's Arsenal tie

Olise picked up two yellow cards within seconds in Bayern's 3-3 draw at Viking, the second for throwing the ball into the face of the home captain. He misses the Champions League meeting with Arsenal in Munich on 21 October.

Giroud returns to the Emirates as the first French player to appear in the Champions League at 40

Giroud came off the bench for Lille to a standing ovation at 40 years and 13 days old, a first for a French player in the competition. He left Arsenal for Chelsea in 2018 after six years.

Also covered by Arsenal.com.

Loan watch: Nwaneri's overhead kick ruled out, Setford keeps his first Stevenage clean sheet

Ethan Nwaneri had a bicycle kick disallowed for an earlier offside as Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Tommy Setford, who has started Stevenage's last four league games, kept his first clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Wigan.

Women

Russo scores twice as England reach the World Cup playoff final

Alessia Russo scored either side of half time and her Arsenal teammate Georgia Stanway added a third as England beat Greece 5-0 to win the playoff semi-final 8-1 on aggregate. Ukraine are next, in November and December.

Academy

Under-19s lose 2-3 to Lille for their first Youth League defeat

Josh Ogunnaike equalised before the half hour and Elijah Upson headed a second after the break, but Ismael Camara, Yeli Traore and Saad Boussadia scored for Lille. Arsenal have three points from two UEFA Youth League games.

Also covered by Arsenal.com: Adam Horseman reacts.

Arteta says Messi's praise shows Max Dowman is close to the first team

Messi named Dowman in his top 10 future stars. Arteta said Messi's eyes are better than anyone else's and that Dowman is close to regular first team football.

Also covered by Sky Sports.

Social

• u/QwackSparrow on Reddit: An alternative camera angle on Timber's opener, which shows the touch that took him away from his marker before the finish.
• u/arsenal on Reddit: Arteta on Ken Friar: this stadium would not be built if not for him, and the club want to pay a proper tribute when they can.
• u/defenestrate_urself on Reddit: A club by club breakdown doing the rounds of what Manchester City's rule breaking is estimated to have cost rivals, with Arsenal's share put at £30m.
• Andy Kelly on Bluesky: The club historian on Ken Friar: everyone he knows who has worked for Arsenal called him Mr Friar, and he was universally respected.
• Orbinho on Bluesky: A stat for the defence: two goals conceded in the last eight Champions League matches, and both of those were penalties.
• arseblog on Bluesky: On the second-half flurry, and on Eze taking his chance with five shots and a goal while Saka added a goal and an assist off the bench.

Podcasts

• The Arsenal Audio Matchday Programme, Arsenal v LOSC Lille 13th October 2026 (52 min). The club's fully audio described matchday programme for the Lille game.
• Inside Arsenal - with Charles Watts, Lille preview - Team news, Arteta's Saka target & Arsenal predicted XI (22 min). Watts goes through the team news and Arteta's pre-match comments on Saka and Dowman, with a predicted XI.
• The Thing About Arsenal, Arsenal 3-0 Lille: Dennis, is that you? (25 min). Jim was inside the Emirates and talks Jonny through a performance that turned in seven minutes, plus Arteta's rotation.
• Latte Firm - Arsenal FC x, TIMBER, EZE and a lovely SAKA cameo! Arsenal 3-0 Lille | Match Reaction (31 min). Match reaction on the three goals and what the substitutes changed.
• The Arsenal Armchair Podcast, Arsenal Armchair Podcast #21 (31 min). An interview with Sam Pearl and the team behind Gooners On Tour, a fan platform of matchday vlogs and supporter stories.

On This Day

2018. Arsenal went to Chelsea in the WSL and won 5-0, Kim Little opening after 21 minutes before Vivianne Miedema and Jordan Nobbs both scored twice. The Arsenal Women Archive has the highlights. Via The Arsenal Women Archive

2006. Arsenal beat Watford 3-0 in front of 60,018 at Emirates Stadium, Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor adding to a Watford own goal in the club's first season at the new ground. Via Wikipedia

1989. Perry Groves scored twice and Michael Thomas and Paul Merson added one each as the reigning champions beat Manchester City 4-0 at Highbury. Via Wikipedia

1984. Alex Scott was born in Poplar, and went on to win everything available to her at Arsenal across two spells, including the 2007 UEFA Cup.