Men

Tzolis returns to London with a hamstring injury

Christos Tzolis was forced off after 18 minutes of Greece's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Thursday and had scans in Greece on Friday. He is reported to be facing up to three weeks out, which would rule him out of the Leeds game on October 10.

Also covered by The Athletic and Arseblog News.

Arsenal shelve plans to expand the Emirates

Arsenal have dropped the major redevelopment studied since 2024 and will instead upgrade hospitality, retail and matchday facilities at the 60,704 capacity ground. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has brought in Boston Consulting Group to review non football operations.

Also covered by Evening Standard.

Four players back in full training before Leeds

Training footage released by the club shows Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and Marli Salmon all back in the group at Sobha Realty, eight days before Leeds visit the Emirates.

Also covered by Evening Standard.

Konsa fit again and available for England

Thomas Tuchel confirmed Ezri Konsa has recovered from the minor problem that kept him on the bench against the Czech Republic and trained in full on Friday, putting him in line to face Croatia on Saturday.

Raya wins Premier League Save of the Month

David Raya took September's award for tipping Enzo Le Fee's penalty onto the post at Sunderland. Under two minutes later Bruno Guimaraes scored his first Arsenal goal in the 2-0 win.

Internationals: Odegaard assists again, Scanlon scores a solo goal

Martin Odegaard set up Oscar Bobb's opener as ten man Norway lost 2-1 at Wales, his third assist of the break. James Scanlon beat three players before scoring in Gibraltar's 1-1 draw with Malta.

Bournemouth will not sell Kroupi in January

Bournemouth are not willing to entertain offers for Eli Junior Kroupi in the winter window, BBC Sport reported, after Arsenal's interest in the summer. The 20 year old has not played this season following July surgery on a fractured metatarsal.

Arsenal sign a trading card deal with Topps

The multi year global agreement makes Topps the club's official trading cards and stickers licensee, covering the men's and women's first teams and selected former players. The first release is the Topps 26/27 Arsenal Collectors Tin.

Havertz picks his favourite Arsenal goal in a Reddit AMA

Kai Havertz answered supporter questions on Reddit and named his sixth minute goal in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain as the best feeling he has had in football.

Women

Slegers says she has the board's full support and apologises for her Paris no-show

Renee Slegers said the backing from Clare Wheatley, Richard Garlick, James King and Jodie Taylor has been superb during a run of one win in five. She also apologised for skipping Wednesday's press conference, saying she chose to stay with her players.

Also covered by The Guardian and ESPN.

Why the Williamson penalty in Paris was given correctly

Former Premier League referee Andy Davies explained that Misa Rodriguez had already taken the goal kick when she played the ball to Leah Williamson, so the ball was live and Williamson picking it up was handball. VAR checked and did not intervene.

Baum and Rodriguez nominated for WSL monthly awards

Lisa Baum's debut strike at Brighton is one of eight on the Goal of the Month shortlist and Misa Rodriguez is up for Save of the Month for her stop from Kiko Seike in the same game. Voting closes at 10am on Monday.

Also covered by Arsenal.com.

Man City v Arsenal is on Sky Sports Main Event

Arsenal's first visit to the Etihad Stadium in the Women's Super League kicks off at 4.30pm on Sunday and is live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.

Academy

Ceadach O'Neill stays one cap from committing to Northern Ireland

The 18 year old forward, signed from Linfield in 2024, was left on the bench for Monday's 0-0 draw with Hungary, so he remains one appearance short of being tied to Northern Ireland while the FAI continues to court him.

Social

• u/Ben_Thatcher94 on Reddit: Viktor Gyokeres became the first player to score in six consecutive Nations League matches as Sweden drew in Bosnia.
• u/Mors_Acerba on Reddit: Ivan Jovanovic's full explanation of why he took Tzolis off against his wishes, which is the clearest account of the substitution row.
• u/AnyBad7112 on Reddit: Gary Jacob's Times report that the Emirates expansion to a possible 80,000 has been ruled out, posted before the rest of the coverage landed.
• now.arsenal on Bluesky: A note that Kai Havertz's Germany injury is not thought to be serious and that he may still make the Leeds game.
• GiantCalGunner on Bluesky: A chance meeting with the musician Steve Earle in San Francisco, who has supported Arsenal since a producer took him to Highbury in the late 1980s.
• Lewis on Bluesky: A pointer to the morning Arseblog roundup of the internationals, covering Odegaard, Tzolis and Timber.

Podcasts

• The Thing About Arsenal, The Court of Shaybitration (45 min). Shay walks Luke and Jonny through the Manchester City case with a whiteboard, then the three discuss what the charges mean for how the Wenger era is remembered.
• Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, Manchester City vs Arsenal: What Would an Arsenal Response Look Like? (29 min). A look at Slegers' Friday press conference, her reasons for staying with the players in Paris, and what a response at the Etihad would involve.
• Inside Arsenal - with Charles Watts, Injured Tzolis set for scan + Emirates refurb latest & FA issue City statement (22 min). The Tzolis injury, the rest of the international round up, and the latest on the Emirates refurbishment plans.
• The Gooner Talk, Tom and Poz Discuss Arsenal Transfer Regrets After New Injury + Man City Appeal Begins (1h). Tom and Poz revisit the summer window in light of the latest injury, and cover the start of the Manchester City appeal.
• The Non-Negotiables: Arsenal Podcast, E269: "Defined By An Era" - Wenger's 30-Year Legacy, Arteta's New Contract & Arsenal's Next Era (59 min). Thirty years on from Wenger's appointment, a look at the long-serving managers who have shaped the club, from Chapman and Mee to Graham and Arteta.

On This Day

2019. Gabriel Martinelli announced himself in Europe with two goals in the first 16 minutes against Standard Liege at the Emirates, and Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos added to it in a 4-0 Europa League win. Via Wikipedia

1992. Paul Merson opened the scoring after ten minutes and Ian Wright settled it five minutes from time as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 in front of 27,780 at Highbury. Via Wikipedia

1989. Michael Thomas scored a hat-trick at Home Park as the reigning champions put six past Plymouth Argyle in the League Cup, winning 6-1 with Perry Groves and Alan Smith also on the scoresheet. Via Wikipedia

1917. Eddie Carr was born, a forward who came through at Arsenal in the late 1930s and played for the club from 1935 until war broke out in 1939.