Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.9m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.6m) scored, kept clean sheets and registered double-digit hauls as Arsenal eased past Everton on Saturday.
It wasn’t all roses, however, with Mikel Arteta indulging in some squad rotation and resting Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) most-owned defender, Riccardo Calafiori (£6.0m).
Here are our Scout Notes from the Emirates.
AFTERNOON TO FORGET FOR CALAFIORI OWNERS
Not only was Calafiori reduced to a second-half cameo, thus missing out on a clean sheet, but he also ended Gameweek 8 with a yellow flag next to his name.
Appearing to clutch his hip in the closing stages, he was sent out of harm’s way on the left wing, with all five substitutes already used.
Bit of an odd one.
Calafiori finished the game at left wing, with Madueke behind him at left-back.
Italian has now gone straight down the tunnel after the full-time whistle.
Hopefully not an injury.
— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) October 24, 2026
Arteta confirmed there was an issue with the Italian after the match.
“I wasn’t that mad to change those two positions. He had a light issue, we don’t what it. It seems something very small, but he was cautious of that.” – Mikel Arteta on putting Riccardo Calafiori on the left wing late on
RICE CONCERN?
Might there be a concern over Declan Rice (£7.4m), too?
Arteta didn’t touch on it but the midfielder was clutching his hamstring before being replaced.
It could just be the ongoing issues from last season but it’s something to listen out for in Arteta’s pressers this week.
Declan Rice looked to be holding his right Hamstring just before he was substituted. 🏴 #afc
Hope it’s nothing serious.🤞 https://t.co/JSZYv6uOIt
— The Gunners watch (@Thegunnerswatch) October 24, 2026
SAKA LATEST
Finally on the injury front, the Arsenal boss gave an update on the absent Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) before kick-off.
“I think it will be weeks. The extent of the injury, I think we’re going to have to repeat the scans in a week, 10 days.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka, speaking ahead of kick-off
Widespread reports are suggesting a 6-8 week absence for the winger.
ARTETA ON ROTATION – AND WHEN COULD IT STRIKE AGAIN?
Arteta made five changes for the Everton game, with Saka, Calafiori, Jurrien Timber (£6.5m), Kai Havertz (£7.5m) and Bruno Guimaraes (£6.7m) benched.
In came Ben White (£5.4m), Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.4m), Mikel Merino (£5.7m), Eberechi Eze (£6.2m) and Viktor Gyokeres (£7.0m).
This was the weekly reminder not to completely trust what Arteta says in his pre-match presser! Asked on Friday about looking after Calafiori in this busy period, as he has done in the past, the Arsenal boss said that the Italian was “ready” to start three matches a week and that he was “in a different place [to last season] because he had a full pre-season”. Cue the left-back’s first Premier League benching of 2026/27…
“I think it was, in Munich, one of the most physical games that we play in the last four years. The shift that we put in, it was incredible, and then we have to play on Saturday at 3pm. So, we needed those legs, that freshness as well, players that are in good moments and they need minutes and they all did really well.” – Mikel Arteta
The Gunners’ head coach, unsurprisingly, says he’ll keep going with the tinkering.
“That’s great, and that is going to for sure make me do it again. It gives you no reason not to do it, because we have an unbelievable group of players with the right mentality.” – Mikel Arteta on the success of rotating players
Looking ahead over the next month, where could serious rotation strike again? Likely not in Gameweek 9, given the opposition and the fact that an EFL Cup tie with Fleetwood Town precedes it. Expect the kids to feature in that one.
But Hull City in Gameweek 10 is the final game of another Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday run, so the teamsheet in the Slavia Prague match will be worth paying attention to.
And after the break, things get messy. Might Arteta consider resting a few regulars for a weak Newcastle United side in Gameweek 11, given that Dortmund are to come on the following Tuesday?
Thereafter, a three-game Premier League week (and another Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday run) immediately before the visit of Real Madrid!
GABRIEL EDGES PAST KONSA IN BONUS RACE
We’ve got quite far into this article without mentioning much of the on-field action!
Arsenal finally ended their set-piece goal drought on Saturday. Konsa poked in after some penalty-box pinball for the first, while Gabriel nodded in a recycled set play for the second.
Surprisingly, that was the Brazilian’s first goal since the beginning of January.
Gabriel also bagged DefCon points and has pinched the maximum bonus from Konsa overnight, so he looks set for a 17-point haul. Konsa owners won’t be too miffed about a mere 14 points.
It could have been oh so different, as Gabriel went down holding his leg in the second half and Arsenal were even preparing to take him off. What could have been a one-pointer ended up in a huge haul that lifted him (temporarily) to second in the FPL defender rankings.
“He’s a clear example when I’m talking about the mentality of the team.
“Immediately [after he went down], he said he wanted to continue, and then he scored the goal that helped us win the game. That’s what we need from our players.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Magalhaes
Arteta also hailed the Konsa-Gabriel partnership.
“Unbelievable. To come to a huge club like Arsenal with no pre-season, when Saliba is here and other players are already here, and to position yourself in that manner, with that naturality, I would say, and perform at the level he is doing, and building already the chemistry and a partnership with Gabi that is so solid, it is very, very difficult to do. We’re lucky to have him.” – Mikel Arteta on Ezri Konsa
A MOSTLY COMFORTABLE WIN
This was mostly a routine victory for Arsenal, although Everton did sporadically threaten. Tyrique George (£5.5m) curled narrowly wide early on, while the visitors’ best chance was gift-wrapped to them by White. An alert David Raya (£6.2m) repelled Thierno Barry (£5.7m).
Really, though, the Toffees only had three shots from minutes 1-75, with a late flurry of efforts only coming after they went 2-0 down. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.6m) almost busted the clean sheet in the dying embers.
At the other end, the Gunners had a whopping 20 shots, with Merino in the thick of the goalmouth action with five efforts. Martin Odegaard (£6.8m) matched that figure, albeit mostly with attempts from outside the area, but he was good again, and nearly scored a superb solo effort. He has also inherited corners from Saka, which is another string to his bow.
Rice led the way for chances created (four), mostly from set plays. He was actually a little deeper on Saturday, allowing Merino to bomb forward.
As for the all-new front three of Eze, Gyokeres and Noni Madueke (£6.2m), they were decent without being great. Madueke went closest with a couple of efforts, but Gyokeres’ contribution was mostly hold-up play and graft; he didn’t have a single shot.
DEFCON WATCH
Gabriel’s DefCon points were his fourth of the season. Konsa finished on just two contributions, compared to his partner’s 14!
James Tarkowski (£6.2m) made it five DefCon returns in eight matches, meanwhile.
MYKOLENKO, GREALISH + BRANTHWAITE FITNESS UPDATES
Everton were missing both Jarrad Branthwaite (£5.5m) and Jack Grealish (£6.5m) at the Emirates. Branthwaite was concussed, while Grealish was ill.
“We became aware of it on Monday morning.” – David Moyes on Jarrad Branthwaite’s concussion
The Toffees also lost Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.6m) during the game, but David Moyes was as helpful as he was on Friday with this injury update.
“Don’t know yet. No idea.” – David Moyes on Vitalii Mykolenko
