Declan Rice has pulled out of the latest England squad, his workload being managed after a season that ran to 55 games for Arsenal. Then he played seven of England's eight World Cup matches with nerve pain in his hamstring. Three weeks off, and much of pre-season gone with it.
You'd rather this happened in September than in February. A £100m midfielder who hasn't had a proper summer since 2023 is not a player you want finding his ceiling in the middle of a title run. Leeds at home on the 28th, and no reason yet to think he misses it.
Arsenal Women open the Champions League league phase against HB Køge at Meadow Park tonight, 8pm. Danish champions, and a tie Renée Slegers has framed as a chance to put things right: two goals in three WSL games, and those two came 188 minutes apart. Whatever the finishing problem is, they've watched it back.
Smilla Holmberg looks set for her first start of the season. Fair enough after Saturday. The 19-year-old says her first full pre-season at the club has given her a lot of confidence, which is the sort of thing you can usually only take on trust — except she came off the bench and equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Steph Catley reached 100 WSL appearances against United, which got rather lost in the noise of a late equaliser.
The Brighton defeat keeps giving. A piece on The Athletic makes the case that Fabian Hürzeler had his side break the usual rules of pressing and be brave without the ball, and that it thoroughly destabilised Arsenal. That squares with Arteta talking about respect rather than shape. Somebody found a way to make them uncomfortable, and everyone else will have noticed.
November's schedule is finalised. Anfield at 4.30pm on Sunday 1 November, Newcastle away at 5.30pm on Saturday 21 November, and Manchester City at the Emirates on Sky.
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