The latest Arsenal news ahead of their away trip to the Midlands to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday
A former team-mate of Viktor Gyökeres has spoken about him(Image: Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
After a 2-0 win over Brentford midweek, Arsenal can now look ahead to their next match against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa this weekend.
With 14 games played, the Emirates Stadium outfit are top of the table with 33 points, five points ahead of Manchester City. While this is good for Arsenal, Liverpool fans will know just how little a five-point gap is against City, who are relentless in their pursuit of the league title. London rivals Chelsea made a major slip-up on Wednesday, losing 3-1 to Leeds United on the road.
The Gunners are now on a stunning 18-match unbeaten run and will be hoping to cement their position at the top of the table going into a congested Christmas period. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at all the latest Arsenal news ahead of another weekend of testing Premier League action.
Viktor Gyokeres sent brutal message
Vikto Gyokeres has been sent a message by former team-mate Martyn Waghorn, who described him as “evil” during their time at Coventry City together and also took the opportunity to heap the praise on the Swede. He played for Coventry between 2021 and 2023 before securing a big move to Sporting Lisbon. Gyokeres now, of course, is one of the premier strikers in world football.
Speaking on the Under The Cosh podcast, via CoventryLive, former team-mate Waghorn revealed that Gyokeres “had eyes that made it look like he wanted to kill you”. Despite this, he explained that he never thought the Arsenal front man would have risen to such heights in a short space of time.
READ MORE: Gary Neville rules team out of title race after latest results – ‘No chance’READ MORE: Man Utd denied £44m January transfer audition as Premier League suspension confirmedViktor Gyokeres at Coventry City(Image: Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
Asked if he could have seen Gyokeres picking up the best striker in Europe award four years down the line, Waghorn said: “Errrm, mentality-wise, yes. He was a machine. Ability-wise at the time, no. Vik was unbelievable. Like everything he did, I could see him being a top striker. No way did I think within three years he’d be at Sporting, Champions League, whatever… But his drive and will to want to be, yeah, he was so focused. He was like, ‘I’m going to be the best,’ and I was like, ‘OK mate, whatever.’”
When asked about whether he believed him, Waghorn said: “Yes and no. He said it with that much conviction and when he trained he was evil. He had this look in his eyes like, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and that’s how he trained. He’s mad but he believed in himself and yeah, incredible. And what a great guy as well. He’s a funny guy.
“But he trained like every day was ******* the last day he was going to play for you. And the gaffer is like, ‘we’ve ******* got a game tomorrow, Vik,’ and he’d say, ‘no, no, I’ve got to score five goals, I need to do this, do that…’ He was just relentless and it’s all down to hard work, in fairness to him. He was a machine.”
Roy Keane makes prediction
Manchester United legend Roy Keane has made his feelings clear on the title race after the midweek Premier League games.
Mikel Arteta’s title charge continued on Wednesday evening after beating Brentford 2-0 with goals from Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino. This victory restored Arsenal’s five-point lead at the peak of the table.
Roy Keane has made his feelings clear on the title race(Image: 2025 James Gill – Danehouse)
With Aston Villa next up for Arteta, the title charge continues, but speaking on The Overlap, Keane made his stance clear on where the season is going.
“Your lot have got to win it. You’ve got to win the league this season,” stated Keane. The league is over. It’s over. The league is over.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also touched on the title race but had a different take: “Your lot [Arsenal] have been so much better than everyone else. But Man City are still there, aren’t they? They haven’t even played that well but they’re still close. There’s a long way to go.”
Twins officially sign
Arsenal have officially that they have reached an agreement for the double signing of Edwin and Holger Quintero from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle.
The 16-year-old South American prodigies will join Arsenal when they turn 18, having earned under-17 caps for Ecuador. They have been performing incredibly well for their club and will significantly bolster Arsenal youth academy when they link up with the squad in 2027.
In an official statement, they wrote: “Edwin is left-footed, quick and a skilful dribbler. He operates as a right winger, likes to take on opponents and has a catalogue of skills.
“Holger is a technically gifted, right-footed, attacking midfielder who links play with his progressive vision and also possesses the ability to beat opponents with quick feet.
“We will be collaborating closely with Independiente del Valle on the development and wellbeing of both Edwin and Holger until they arrive at Arsenal. Everyone at Arsenal is excited to welcome the Quintero twins to the club in the near future.”
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