Saturday’s tea time kick-off sees a showdown between Arsenal and Fulham, perhaps the two most contented sides in the league right now.
The newly-promoted Whites will be delighted with their return of five points from the opening three games, particularly after securing a dramatic win last weekend against rivals Brentford. Arsenal, meanwhile, are top of the league with three wins from three, and will be optimistic of extending that perfect record this weekend against a Fulham side that have never won away at Arsenal in their history.
Here’s what both managers had to say to the press.
Team News
Mikel Arteta confirmed that he has a near-fully fit squad to choose from, with long-term absentee Reiss Nelson the only player unavailable.
“Everybody has trained, everyone is fine. We have a full team to select from, apart from Reiss who has been injured for a few weeks.”
Fulham are in a similar position, with no new injury concerns this week. Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon remain out with knee injuries, while Silva confirmed that Neeskens Kabano faces a late fitness test.
“We have to check the situation of Kabano day by day, he may be out of the game but it’s too early to give you an answer on that. Everything else is the same.”
On facing each other
With both sides in excellent form, the managers were quick to praise each other’s work.
Silva, in particular, was full of positive words for his counterpart:
“I think he’s one of the best examples of when you believe in the people who are in charge of your club, managing your club,” Silva said.
“With time and supporting him, and of course it’s clear what they did in the market, some pieces that they brought in to give them the extra they needed, they started really well.
“They are playing good football, they are confident, you can see from the first minute of the first game the way they’ve started.”
Fulham are on an unbeaten run themselves, and Silva made clear that he expects a strong performance from his side.
“They have a lot of individual quality, they are in a good moment, it will be tough for us, but we are in a good moment as well.
“Of course you want to go there to match them, to challenge them, to embrace the challenge that will definitely be a tough challenge for us, but we want to play the game and to match them.”
Mikel Arteta was also full of positive words for his opponents. Despite the Whites having just been promoted from the Championship, the Spaniard is expecting a difficult test at the Emirates Stadium.
“It will be a really tough match. Obviously they’re coming off an amazing run last year in the Championship, they still haven’t lost a match in the Premier League and they played against three really difficult opponents, so credit to them.
“It’s going to be a difficult game.”
One player the Gunners will be wary of is Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Fulham frontman has been in electric form so far this season, giving Virgil Van Dijk a torrid time on the opening day before netting a last-minute winner against Brentford last week.
Arsenal have historically been vulnerable against physical frontmen, and Arteta is fully aware of the threat posed by the Serbian.
“When he is around the box… as you could see last season, he scored 43 goals in the league, he has three already this season. Obviously he’s one of their main threats.”
On transfers
The transfer deadline is fast approaching, with just a week left for Premier League teams to bring in reinforcements, and both clubs remain active in the market.
For Arsenal, the big news this week concerned the departure of winger Nicolas Pepe, who has joined French side Nice on a season-long loan. The Ivorian, the Gunners’ record signing following his £72 million move in 2019, has shown flashes of his talent but struggled for consistency.
“We have decided for every party it was the best decision to allow him to go,” said Arteta. “He’s had some really good moments, and other moments where he hasn’t contributed that much to the team in terms of minutes. He needs to play football, he was really adamant about that and we decided it was the best thing for everyone.
“He needs his minutes, he’s been talking to me a lot about that but I couldn’t guarantee it. At some stage frustration comes in, the level of performance won’t be what we want, so we have decided this is the best thing to do.”
The Gunners boss also indicated they are looking at a direct replacement in the remaining days of the window.
“If we can implement the plan that we have we will try to do it. We may be able to replace him (Pepe) with somebody, but it’s not a guarantee – the player is still not here.”
Marco Silva has not been shy about stating his desire for fresh faces at Craven Cottage this summer, and he used his last press conference before the deadline to reiterate this wish.
“We have been linked with so many players – some are true, some that are not,” Silva said.
“I expected to do it earlier in the market and I expected last week to do something, but we go into another week without the solutions we should have at this level on the bench.
“Let’s hope by the 31st [August] something changes for us. The players have been working really hard and playing really well but they need help.”
Silva is particularly concerned about his side’s lack of firepower in forward areas, and revealed that the club were close to signing Neal Maupay from Brighton and Hove Albion. However, the forward has now chosen a move to Everton instead.
“It is true we were linked with him, he was very close to coming, but I think he is going to another club now,” he said.