{"id":475179,"date":"2025-10-05T05:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/475179\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T05:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:36:27","slug":"saka-on-pens-odegaard-injury-gabriels-defcons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/475179\/","title":{"rendered":"Saka on pens, Odegaard injury + Gabriel’s DefCons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League on Saturday, avoiding the banana skin of a \u2018new manager bounce\u2019 by breezing past Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s West Ham United.<\/p>\n

From penalties to DefCons and injuries, here are our Scout Notes from the Emirates.<\/p>\n

PENALTY PALAVER<\/p>\n

Cast your minds back six weeks or so, and there was plenty of chatter about Viktor Gyokeres<\/strong> (\u00a39.1m) assuming control of penalties following his summer move. His new manager, Mikel Arteta, even named him Arsenal\u2019s best taker of spot-kicks<\/a>. Gyokeres\u2019 record backs that up: 20 taken in 2024\/25, 20 scored.<\/p>\n

A few days later, the Swede converted from the spot in the Gameweek 2 win over Leeds United. That\u2019s that settled, then \u2013 or so we thought.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Arsenal won their latest penalty, their second of the season. And up stepped\u2026 Bukayo Saka<\/strong> (\u00a39.9m). He scored, and we\u2019re back to square one again.<\/p>\n

Saka wasn\u2019t present when Gyokeres netted against Leeds, but both players were on the field against West Ham.<\/p>\n

Is Saka still the first choice, then? It\u2019d be naive to assume that, too, given how generous the winger has been in the past<\/a> with sharing the responsibility. Arteta even reiterated in pre-season<\/a> that the players \u201cresolve it themselves\u201d whenever there is a penalty awarded.<\/p>\n

One thing worth mentioning is that Saturday was Saka\u2019s 200th Premier League appearance<\/a>, and the penalty brought up his 100th goal involvement. Did he pull rank because of the occasion?<\/p>\n

Almost inevitably, there wasn\u2019t a single penalty-themed question thrown to Arteta or Saka in any of the post-match interviews or press conferences we\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still in the dark, then \u2013 but one thing we do now know is that Gyokeres doesn\u2019t have the monopoly on spot-kicks.<\/p>\n

ODEGAARD + RICE INJURY UPDATES<\/p>\n

A comfortable victory over the Hammers was marred by injuries to Martin Odegaard<\/strong> (\u00a37.9m) and Declan Rice<\/strong> (\u00a36.5m).<\/p>\n

Odegaard is probably the biggest worry, as he limped off in the first half after a clash of knees and was later spotted with a brace on.<\/p>\n

Assessments \u2013 and maybe some international withdrawals \u2013 will follow.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI think he had a clash knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable. I just spoke to him, he\u2019s not positive about it. He\u2019s got a brace on. We\u2019ll have to wait and see from the doctors. But we haven\u2019t been very lucky with that either.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not all right because he asked me to come off, so that\u2019s a shame. He had a pain in his back and he could not carry on, which is something very unusual for Declan, so we\u2019ll have to assess him and see how he is.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Declan Rice<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Away from injuries, Arteta made six changes to his starting XI. That mostly entailed bringing back the big guns after midweek breathers but the benching of the influential Martin Zubimendi<\/strong> (\u00a35.5m) was a reminder that it won\u2019t always be the UEFA Champions League, or the EFL Cup, where the most popular Arsenal picks get rests.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cCritical. We\u2019re playing every three days and with the intensity that we play and the requirements of the opposition, it\u2019s impossible to maintain the same players. So the ones that are coming, they have to lift the level, the intensity and help us to win the game. We talked about many, many times and in this period, especially, I think it\u2019s been really, really positive.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on rotation<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

THREAT FROM ALL OVER<\/p>\n

This match pretty much played out how most people were expecting it to, with West Ham looking more stubborn under the defence-first Nuno, frustrating their hosts for long periods but ultimately outclassed.<\/p>\n

The Hammers\u2019 job was made all the more difficult as assaults were coming from every angle.<\/p>\n

Jurrien Timber<\/strong> (\u00a35.8m) and an inverting Riccardo Calafiori<\/strong> (\u00a35.7m) bombed forward from full-back and racked up six penalty box touches apiece. Both nearly scored: the former seeing a shot saved, the latter hitting the post. Timber also won Saka\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n

Eberechi Eze<\/strong> (\u00a37.6m) and, once Zubimendi came on, Declan Rice<\/strong> (\u00a36.5m) crashed the box, the latter scoring from a saved Eze attempt. Eze really should have found the net himself earlier, blazing over from six yards.<\/p>\n

Combined with the threat from the flanks, it was a relentless and varied bombardment.<\/p>\n

Eight different Arsenal players had at least two shots:<\/p>\n

\"injury<\/p>\n

All of which suggests that Gyokeres is not quite the focal point and chance magnet that owners would like him to be. Calafiori even has a better minutes-per-shot average (37.3 v 38.5) in 2025\/26!<\/p>\n

Gyokeres did have opportunities here, mind: he nearly scrambled the ball home in the move that led to Eze\u2019s sitter, he fluffed a good headed chance, and he was inches from connecting from a Rice cross. It wouldn\u2019t have taken much for him to end the six-match drought.<\/p>\n

At least his game-time is good: this was his fifth 90 minutes in seven Gameweeks.<\/p>\n

GABRIEL SURPASSES LAST YEAR\u2019S DEFCON TOTAL<\/p>\n

We expect clean sheets from Arsenal defenders but, based on previous seasons\u2019 evidence, not defensive contribution (DefCon) points.<\/p>\n

Yet might this year be different? Gabriel Magalhaes<\/strong> (\u00a36.2m) delivered DefCon points for the third time this season on Saturday. That\u2019s already more than he managed in the entirety of 2024\/25!<\/p>\nGabriel in 2024\/25Gabriel in 2025\/26<\/tr>\n\nStarts (sub apps)<\/td>\n28 (0)<\/td>\n7 (0)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDefCon points<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nClearances, blocks, interceptions + tackles (CBIT) per game<\/td>\n5.68<\/td>\n9.43<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

GREEN SHOOTS FOR WEST HAM?<\/p>\n

West Ham\u2019s goal threat was almost non-existent. There were just four shots all game, with two set-piece headers in the 1st and 91st minutes the closest they came.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: West Ham\u2019s shot map in Gameweek 7<\/p>\n

But this game, against the division\u2019s tightest defence, was never going to be about measuring attacking prowess. It wasn\u2019t a match to judge Jarrod Bowen<\/strong>\u2018s (\u00a37.7m) Fantasy potential for the upcoming favourable fixtures; he had almost as many touches in his own half as Arsenal\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Rather, this was always going to be a gauge of how less porous the pragmatic Nuno could make the Hammers, who have conceded more goals than any other Premier League team.<\/p>\n

And it was better, defensively \u2013 not that it\u2019s saying much. There was an improvement at set pieces, while Konstantinos Mavropanos<\/strong> (\u00a34.4m) was commanding at centre-half. It\u2019s three DefCon returns in five starts for him, with the latest added on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Nuno largely kept the same side, except for bringing back Aaron Wan-Bissaka<\/strong> (\u00a34.3m) after injury. One interesting facet was his use of substitutes, with two youngsters \u2013 midfielder Freddie Potts<\/strong> (\u00a34.4m) and striker Callum Marshall<\/strong> (\u00a34.4m) \u2013 brought on ahead of more senior teammates. That\u2019s something to monitor in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

VOTE FOR FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT IN \u2018BEST IN FANTASY FOOTBALL \u2013 ORGANISATION\u2019 <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League on Saturday, avoiding the banana skin of a \u2018new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[157822,157823,157824,13,12,157825,157826,157827,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-475179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-arsenal-penalty-takers","9":"tag-gabriel-defcon","10":"tag-gyokeres-penalties","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-odegaard-injury","14":"tag-rice-injury","15":"tag-saka-penalties","16":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115319943060895144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}