Overview
- Riccardo Calafiori withdrew in the warm-up and Jurrien Timber was ruled out from training on Friday, compounding absences that also included Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera.
- Myles Lewis-Skelly started at left-back and Declan Rice filled in at right-back, with Gabriel Magalhaes returning as a second-half substitute.
- Martin Ødegaard opened the scoring before a second-half own goal by Georginio Rutter, then Diego Gomez pulled one back to spark a tense finish.
- David Raya preserved the win with a standout late save to deny Yankuba Minteh, underscoring his growing influence in tight games.
- The result reclaimed first place for Arsenal and extended a run of narrow victories, with Arteta acknowledging the need to be more clinical ahead of Tuesday’s home match against Aston Villa.