Arsenal vs Everton preview: Saka awaits MRI result

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Arsenal host Everton in Matchweek 8 of the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 24 October, with kick-off at 3pm. Tony Harrington is the referee.

Arsenal are second with 18 points from seven games, having won six and lost one. Everton are eighth with 10 points from seven, with two wins, four draws and one defeat, so the sides are eight points apart.

Recent form

Arsenal have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding eight. They beat Ipswich Town 4-2, lost 3-0 at Brighton, beat Leeds 2-1 and LOSC Lille 3-0, won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest and drew 2-2 away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Everton have won two, drawn three and lost one of their last six, scoring six and conceding six. They drew 2-2 with Manchester United, 0-0 at Tottenham and 2-2 at Hull City, beat Wolves and Ipswich 1-0 at home, and lost 2-0 to Chelsea last time out.

Team	Last six (oldest first)
Arsenal	WLWWWD WLWWWD
Everton	DDWWDL DDWWDL

Arsenal: last six results

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
Wed 21 Oct	Away	FC Bayern München	2-2	D
Sun 18 Oct	Away	Nottingham Forest	1-0	W
Tue 13 Oct	Home	LOSC Lille	3-0	W
Sat 10 Oct	Home	Leeds	2-1	W
Sat 19 Sep	Away	Brighton	0-3	L
Tue 15 Sep	Away	Ipswich Town	4-2	W

Everton: last six results

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
Sat 17 Oct	Home	Chelsea	0-2	L
Sun 11 Oct	Away	Hull City	2-2	D
Sat 19 Sep	Home	Ipswich Town	1-0	W
Wed 16 Sep	Home	Wolves	1-0	W
Sat 12 Sep	Away	Tottenham	0-0	D
Sun 6 Sep	Home	Man Utd	2-2	D

What the managers said

Mikel Arteta

The Arsenal manager spoke about Saka, who was injured in the Bayern game, and said a further scan was due.

“He’s got another MRI this afternoon because he had quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury, but we’ll know more probably tomorrow.”

“Obviously when a player has to walk off the pitch, he’s struggling to walk without any pain, he’s restricted to movement, they are not good signs.”

Arteta also spoke about Everton and their manager David Moyes.

“They have a really good team, which we know because in recent clashes, it’s always been a really difficult game for us.”

“I know David so well and how he sets the team, the quality they have in their organisation and individually.”

“We’re having three games in six days so we know what’s happening, especially when the games are so demanding and the necessity is to win.”

David Moyes

The Everton manager gave little away on injuries before the game.

“We’ve got our share of bits and pieces and we’ll keep them quiet.”

“I wouldn’t be answering any questions [on team news], at the minute, that’s for sure.”

Moyes also spoke about Christian Nørgaard, who came on as a late substitute against Chelsea.

“It actually wasn’t a difficult decision to bring him on, because he’s trained.”

“We didn’t think he was going to be back fully firing until probably after the next international break, because he’s had no real pre-season with us.”

Team news

Arsenal are without William Saliba (back injury) and Christos Tzolis (thigh problems). Bukayo Saka has not been confirmed as out or fit, with a further MRI scheduled on Friday afternoon, and Arteta called the signs “not good”. Piero Hincapié is available. Everton have not revealed their injury news, and Moyes declined to answer on Jarrad Branthwaite’s availability. Nørgaard is further from full fitness than Everton hoped, according to Moyes.

What the pundits say

Chris Sutton, BBC Sport football expert and former striker, gave his view on BBC Sport and predicted a 2-0 Arsenal win.

“Arsenal were so ugly in the way they beat Nottingham Forest last weekend, but were a lot easier on the eye in the midweek draw with Bayern Munich.

They are going to be without the injured Bukayo Saka for this game, but they are at home and they should still have too much for Everton.

Everton will make it tough for them, of course, but I am not sure how they will hurt the Gunners.”

Where Arsenal can hurt Everton

Analysis: Arsenal have scored two or more goals in four of their last six matches, including 4-2 at Ipswich and 3-0 against Lille. Everton have conceded twice in three of their last six, against Manchester United, Hull and Chelsea.

Everton have failed to score in two of their last six, in the 0-0 draw at Tottenham and the 2-0 defeat by Chelsea. Arsenal have won six of their seven league games and have conceded five league goals in that time.

Where Everton can hurt Arsenal

Analysis: Arsenal have conceded in four of their last six matches, eight goals in total, including three at Brighton and two at Bayern Munich. They are also without Saliba, and Saka’s fitness is unconfirmed.

Everton have scored in four of their last six and drew both of their away games in that run, 0-0 at Tottenham and 2-2 at Hull. They have lost only one of their seven league games, and four of their seven have been draws.

How to watch

Arsenal vs Everton is not shown live on UK television: Saturday 3pm kick-offs fall in the UK broadcast blackout.

AI Tipster value bet

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