The Arsenal Sentinel
Match9 Dec 2026
Mikel Merino sends Arsenal through
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Mikel Merino obliged against Millwall. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Arsenal.
Match14 Dec 2026
Arsenal refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 30 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Mikel Merino pops up at the right end — 7.93
7.93, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Arsenal
Bukayo Saka and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Christos Tzolis was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market14 Dec 2026
Vinícius Júnior wants more than Arsenal are offering
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The step up is real for Louis Zecevic-John
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Match9 Dec 2026
The run at home goes on for Arsenal
9 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
The terraces14 Dec 2026
Arsenal supporters have found a favourite in Edward Phillips
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 14-year-old it feels ownership of. Edward Phillips has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
In brief
- Player ratings A masterclass from Ebere Eze
- The dugout Bukayo Saka has become a man the manager trusts
- The dugout The view from the dugout