Arsenal resume their Premier League campaign post the international break with a short trip across London to Fulham. Mikel Arteta's squad mostly came through international duty unscathed, although the knee injury Martin Ødegaard picked up against West Ham is set to keep him out for the next six weeks.
Having gone top of the league before the international break with four consecutive wins in all competitions, Arteta perhaps would not appreciate the interruption, although his players continued their good form. Eberechi Eze joined Bukayo Saka in scoring for England in the international break, as did Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli for their respective nations.
However, Viktor Gyökeres hasn't scored for club nor country in over 624 minutes of football over eight appearances. His last goal was in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in September, 34 days ago. Arteta previously defended his striker's contribution, but doubts are beginning to surface over the £63 million ($84.5m) acquisition.
In contrast to Arsenal, Fulham went into the international break on the back of losses to Aston Villa and Bournemouth. Marco Silva would have appreciated the break that saw his team slide to 14th in the table, but it appears that none of the players injured before the break are back.
Of those fit, Joachim Andersen scored his first ever international goal for Denmark, while Samuel Chukwueze and Timothy Castagne were involved in goals for their nations as well. With both managers receiving a set of players that were heavily involved during the international break, the starting XIs might witness plenty of rotation.
Arsenal have lost and drawn in their last two visits to Craven Cottage and as they gear up to face former midfielders Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe, this fixture represents a potential banana-peel.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's London derby.
How to watch:
The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK, NBC Sports in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 18 at 5.30 p.m. BST (12.30 p.m. ET; 10 p.m. IST and 1.30 a.m. AEST, Sunday)
Venue: Craven Cottage, London
Referee: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Team News:
Fulham
Kenny Tete, D: knee, OUT, est. return early Nov
Raúl Jiménez, F: hip, DOUBT
Rodrigo Muniz, F: knock, OUT, est. return early Nov
Sasa Lukic, M: foot, OUT, est. return early Nov
Arsenal
Kai Havertz, F: knee, OUT, est. return mid Oct
Gabriel Jesus, F: ACL, OUT, est. return late Dec
Noni Madueke, F: knee, DOUBT
Piero Hincapié, D: groin, DOUBT
Martin Ødegaard, M: knock, OUT, est. return early Dec
Expected Lineups:
Fulham (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno
RB: Timothy Castagne | CB: Joachim Andersen | CB: Calvin Bassey | LB: Ryan Sessegnon
CM: Sander Berge | CM: Tom Cairney
RW: Harry Wilson | AM: Emile Smith Rowe | LW: Alex Iwobi
CF: Josh King
Arsenal (4-3-3)
GK: David Raya
RB: Ben White | CB: William Saliba | CB: Gabriel Magalhães | LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly
CM: Declan Rice | CAM: Eberechi Eze | CM: Martin Zubimendi
RW: Bukayo Saka | CF: Viktor Gyökeres | LW: Gabriel Martinelli
Stats:
Fulham have only beaten Arsenal once in their last 14 attempts in the Premier League, a 2-1 win at home in December 2023.
After losing his first two games against Mikel Arteta in charge of Fulham, Marco Silva appears to have his number, losing only one of the four games since.
Arsenal's last 18 away games in London derbies have yielded only one loss -- that to Fulham in December 2023.
Arsenal have made the most counter-attacks (14) of any team in the league this season. They were ranked 17th for counter attacks last year.
Alex Iwobi has made the second-most line-breaking passes (8) in the league, only behind Bruno Fernandes.
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