da doce： Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is poised to be without a big-name forward for the North London Derby against Tottenham on November 23, and he’ll be the last out of their long line of attackers to return from injury.
da fazobetai： The Gunners’ majestic run of eight consecutive wins in all competitions without conceding a single goal came to an abrupt end at the Stadium of Light last weekend, with newly-promoted Sunderland dampening Arsenal’s air of invincibility and continuing their unbelievable start to 2025/2026.
Dan Ballard gave the hosts a surprise lead around 10 minutes before half-time, finally putting an end to David Raya’s run of clean sheets which stretched all the way back to September.
Bukayo Saka’s neat finish and Leandro Trossard’s piledriver did spark a fightback from Arsenal with Arteta’s side battling their way into the ascendency, much like they did at Sunderland’s North East rivals Newcastle nearly two months prior.
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-1 Man City
Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
Burnley 0-2 Arsenal
Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal
Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal
However, an acrobatic, last-gasp equaliser from Brian Brobbery ensured that the Black Cats would maintain their unbeaten run at home and break Arsenal hearts in the process.
Man City, who put Liverpool to the sword at Eastlands the next day, will be given some real encouragement as Pep Guardiola’s side now close the gap to four points.
The north Londoners had a few other golden chances in the match with Martin Zubimendi striking the crossbar for good measure, but they arguably ran out of steam creatively and couldn’t kill the game off at 2-1.
This is largely owing to Arsenal’s plethora of injury absentees in the final third.
Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres were all forced to miss the clash, with some being unavailable for weeks as Arteta’s squad depth is seriously tested akin to last season.
Havertz has impressed Arsenal rehab specialists with his recovery from a knee problem, while Madueke is in line for an earlier than expected return to the fold after working hard behind-the-scenes.
In a boost for Arteta, journalist Simon Collings of Standard Sport has revealed that the aforementioned duo, Martinelli, Odegaard and Gyokeres are all racing to be fit for Arsenal’s looming clash with Tottenham right after the international break.
However, the same cannot be said for Jesus.
Gabriel Jesus poised to miss North London derby and last to return from Arsenal injury
Collings reports that, while the others could be available for Tottenham, Jesus “will be the last to return” from his Arsenal injury despite resuming full training last week.
The £265,000-per-week star ruptured his ACL in an FA Cup defeat to Man United in January and hasn’t played since then, with Jesus since stating that it is the worst injury of his career.
The Brazil international has also been heavily linked with a January exit in the last two months, but Arteta moved to quash these rumours by expressing his delight over Jesus’ imminent comeback.
The 28-year-old has missed a total of 54 games for Arsenal since that injury against United, so he’ll now be relishing the prospect of contributing towards their potential first Premier League title in 22 years.