After Lewis started yesterday’s blog with an ode to Berlin’s crisp autumnal air, I feel it’s my duty to point out that the weather is due to be fucking horrible in London today. There’s a storm on its way, with very heavy rain forecast across the capital from this afternoon until the early hours. If you’re heading to the match, you’ll want to reach for whatever waterproof Adidas merch drop you’ve been tempted into buying in recent years. And an umbrella. And possibly galoshes. Look ’em up, kids. Weather aside, a showdown with Everton is always welcome, particularly on home turf. I was looking through the record books yesterday, and the Toffees have won just four of their last 50 visits to Highbury and the Emirates in all competitions. Arsenal have won 38, outscoring them 109–36. What’s more, their only win in north London this millennium came during the pandemic, so it doesn’t really count. We’ve faced each other 226 times in competitive fixtures. Plenty of history to get through, most of it rather enjoyable from our perspective. My own fond memories stretch back to the early nineties, listening to Jonathan Pearce’s commentary on Capital Gold Sportstime. That’s how I experienced Anders Limpar’s four assists for Wrighty in 1991, Wrighty’s lob over Neville Southall the following year, and even Tony Adams’ title-clinching goal in 1997/98. We’ve given Everton a few batterings since then, too, including the 7-0 at Highbury in 2005 and a couple of 5-1 wins at our new home in the last decade. More of the same would be lovely, although the Premier League rarely dishes out winning margins like that these days. A disciplined David Moyes side who’ve conceded just seven league goals won’t be inclined to hand out gifts. The Toffees have also had a whole week to stew on their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, while we’ve been to Germany and back, picking up a nasty injury to our star player along the way. As you might expect, Bukayo Saka was a hot topic at yesterday’s press conference. Arteta sounded pretty pessimistic, despite the winger still needing another MRI scan and further specialist opinions. I know we shouldn’t speculate on such matters (unless we have English Literature degrees), but I’d be surprised if we see him again this year. It does raise uncomfortable questions about how we’ve managed him. Asked whether Saka is less robust than he used to be, Arteta pointed to the demanding schedule. “He’s certainly been different in the last year or so, but the demands that go into the players are immense with club and international competitions, and the times between games are getting narrower. There are less than 66 or 67 hours between games, and every hour is important. The support would be really appreciated, and it’s the same for every team.” He has a valid point. But isn’t it also our responsibility to manage him through that schedule? Did he need to start nine of the 12 games we’ve played this season? Remember, he went all the way to the final weekend of the World Cup, then played the last half-hour of the Community Shield less than a month later. I know schools of thought differ on these matters. Players want to maintain their rhythm, managers want their best players on the pitch, and so on. But he was missing games with an Achilles problem in April and was still managing it Stateside, where he had to sit out England matches. Saka remains a phenomenal player. It just feels as though the minutes he played between breaking through as a 17-year-old and the hamstring injury that required surgery in December 2024 may have caught up with him. That’s just my feeling. Understandably, Arteta sees it differently. Asked if Saka is burnt out, the manager said: “I don’t have that feeling at all. But certainly what we have to be very mindful of is to create the right ecosystem around a player to maximise his qualities. We need to understand what he’s capable of sustaining when he comes back, whenever that is.” Ever the pragmatist, Arteta has already told Saka that, whatever he’s dealing with, the team still needs his energy around the place. “I’ve already told him, go in that building and be the first one there with a good spirit and energy because that’s what the team needs. If everybody is like, ‘Bukayo, how are you? Are you sad? Are you OK?’ That’s exactly what we don’t need. “It is what it is. This is part of our job to have this, to have some nice and bad results, a defeat, a problem; we need to deal with that. We cannot change that now. What we certainly can dominate is the narrative from here to the Everton game, together with the best energy and the spirit to go and win the game again.” When it comes to who can fill in for Saka, options are thin on the ground. It looks as though Noni Madueke’s brief flirtation with the left flank is over as quickly as it started, or else it’s Max Dowman. You’d expect the former to start today, with the latter getting minutes against Fleetwood Town in the League Cup on Tuesday. Given Max’s dramatic contribution against the Toffees earlier this year, though, you can’t rule out an appearance this afternoon. Running the ball from the halfway line into an empty net is a decent audition. Elsewhere, Arteta confirmed Piero Hincapie is available after his recent ankle problem, giving him the option to hand Riccardo Calafiori a breather. Ben White could cover for Jurrien Timber, while Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres will be champing at the bit to start after coming off the bench in Munich. There’s a balance to strike between resting the likes of Rice and Bruno and giving their new partnership time to bed in. I expect some, but not lots of rotation. Having spent much of this season warming the bench, Martin Zubimendi must be wondering how he gets back into the side. He was our second-most-used outfield player last season, so it’s quite a change in circumstances. Arteta touched on his situation yesterday: “He had a few [opportunities], then he had the [ankle] injury, and it’s true he had one game where he was almost fully available to play some minutes, but not to start the game. And from now, he needs to earn the right to play. I need to find the right games to give him the opportunity, and I know when I do that, what his response is going to be. But he’s been exceptional, whatever the role that he had to assume. And I expect that from every player. And he’s a player that deserves more minutes at the moment.” Watch out, Fleetwood, is all I can say. From what I can tell, Everton arrive with a completely clean bill of health, which is pretty remarkable given their squad is so small. After joining from Arsenal with an Injury, Christian Norgaard was fit enough to make his long-awaited debut last weekend. I was watching at home, and to say he looked off the pace would be an understatement. He was comically slow, like he was wearing tree trunks for boots. Speaking yesterday about the cameo, David Moyes said: “When we brought him on, we realised he’s a little bit further away than we hoped…Christian was the first one to come to me and say he was sorry about it.” Once today is out of the way, let’s hope he gets up to speed, any kind of speed, because he seems like a nice fella. The Dane isn’t the only reunion on the cards, we’ll also welcome back Ainsley ‘the Bird Catcher’ Maitland-Niles. Honestly (and I know it’s wishful thinking), but if we’re a few goals ahead in the dying seconds, I’d be up for conceding a cheeky penalty just to see what he does. At this stage of the season, it’s about putting points on the board, even if the usual tension is dampened somewhat by Manchester City’s impending relegation to Hackney Marshes. The league ‘leaders’ face Aston Villa in the early kick-off, but whether they win 10-0 or lose by the same scoreline, they currently exist like a turd that can’t be flushed. To be fair, given the weather and the state of the UK’s godforsaken water companies, flushing them would probably only ruin some poor swimmer’s day. So maybe we can wait a bit longer. I hate to segue from such grotesque imagery to the recently departed Mr Friar, but I believe the club will be paying special tribute to our life president this afternoon. There have been plenty of warm words and anecdotes about his incredible service to Arsenal, and it’ll be good for those of us heading to N5 to pay our respects together. That’s about it from me. As you’ll know by now, Andrew M has been out of action for a couple of days, so the rest of the team will do its best to bring you as much of the usual matchday coverage as possible. I don’t yet know whether that will include a Live Blog or Player Ratings, but remember, the new Arseblog app on iOS and Android has plenty of new features, including live match updates. There’s just less swearing… Right, I’m off to find my wetsuit. Come on you Gunners! The post A sweet end to the week against the Toffees? appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.