#arsenal

#arsenal

Starting with the hosts, while Arsenal might have fallen to a last-gasp 2-1 loss away at Aston Villa earlier in the month, the Gunners have demonstrated that result was nothing more than a minor blip. Last seen over the weekend clinching a gritty 1-0 victory away at Everton, Mikel Arteta's men are leading the chase at the top of the Premier League table and are pencilled in as a standout contender to get their hands on a first domestic crown since way back in 2004.

Sam Kerr scored the opening two goals for Chelsea, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd got a hat-trick. Wieke Kaptein scored twice, with Sjoeke Nusken and Millie Bright also getting on the score-sheet. Jenna Clark headed home for Liverpool, who have failed to win any of their last four games in all competitions and are rooted to the bottom of the Women's Super League.

But they are durable at least. A week after toiling to a 2-1 home win against bottom team Wolverhampton Wanderers -- Arsenal's winner in that game was a stoppage-time own goal -- the Gunners gave evidence of their toughness, mentally and physically, by sealing a 1-0 win at Everton on Saturday just a few hours after Manchester City had knocked them off top spot with an easy win over West Ham United.

Arsenal are among a host of top European clubs interested in one of the brightest emerging talents from Norway this week. The north London side have become renowned in recent years for bringing through starlets from their youth ranks, Bukayo Saka being the obvious poster boy. The winger paved the way for the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly to follow, with 15-year-old Max Dowman the latest to step up into the first-team equation.

Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The 48-year-old, widely considered to be one of the Premier League's greatest players, retired in 2014. He will be presented with the award at the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year show on Thursday, live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 GMT. "Football has given me everything and I gave it my all," said Henry. "To be recognised as part of its history with this Lifetime Achievement award and to have made my mark for the fans and my team-mates is something I'll never take for granted."

Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to join Dutch giants Ajax on a short-term deal until the end of the season. The Japan international is scheduled to undergo a medical on Tuesday. BBC Sport revealed in July that Tomiyasu and Arsenal had reached a mutual agreement to terminate the versatile defender's contract a year early, making him a free agent.

"[The mood in the dressing room] is relief but with a very clear understanding that the margins should have been bigger," Arteta told reporters. "After not being precise enough in the first half with the amount of situations that we generated inside the opposition box and we didn't pick the right colour of shirt, we had to improve in the second half.

The fact we have the resources to score from various positions, from different players in different manners, that's a great thing,

Arsenal are top of the Premier League and Champions League tables after what has been an impressive start to the campaign. The Gunners were back to their workmanlike best against Club Brugge in midweek, seeing off the Belgians by three goals to nil, despite Mikel Arteta resting key players. Ebere Eze and Declan Rice did not feature, afforded a full rest, while Bukayo Saka started the game on the bench.

No, so Declan was ill. He was quite sick after the game already and he hasn't travelled. William [Saliba] is out,