Mikel Arteta has declared he is happy to see his players bickering after Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko had a spat in the win at Nottingham Forest – insisting a Premier League title race is not a Disney fairy tale.

The Arsenal boss then bizarrely attempted to make light of the on-pitch altercation when he remarked that he pair were now so close they were even “sharing wives”.

White and Zinchenko were separated by coaching staff after the 2-1 victory at the City Ground, a result which kept alive the Gunners’ title ambitions.

Asked if he liked to see his players arguing, Arteta replied: “Maybe we have a different understanding of what the word fight means.

“A conversation can get heated with emotion after the game when you are at 200 beeps a minute. It’s normal. Nothing new.

“I want to see passion and commitment. I want my players to always have the desire to be better and be demanding. If not it is Disneyland.

“I love it. As long as it’s in a respectful way and with the intention to be more demanding as a team and it stays there, I’m very happy with that.”

Arteta had earlier made a joke of the matter when asked if White and Zinchenko had made up.

“Yes, they’ve been in the same house the past few days sharing wives and everything,” he said.

“It’s fine they’re living together now. They’re best mates.

“You don’t argue with someone if you don’t have a great relationship. That happens because you have the trust and chemistry with somebody to react the way they did.”

Arsenal host leaders Liverpool on Sunday afternoon knowing defeat would leave them eight points off the summit.

Victory, though, could propel last season’s runners-up right back into the title picture and Arteta has pointed to recent success against their rivals.

“We have proven we can beat big teams, we come up against Liverpool now and we’re in a much better place,” he added.

“We talk about momentum. It’s been two wins and we want to make it three. It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere, we’re going to need that.

“I encourage people to play with us every single ball. We’re going to need that.”

Arsenal’s task will be made harder by the fact Thomas Partey remains unavailable after he suffered a training ground setback last weekend.

The Ghana midfielder has been missing with a thigh injury and had been hoping to return.

“Thomas unfortunately we had a little setback a few days ago,” added Arteta.

“He’s not going to be available in the squad. We’ll see if it’s a matter of days of weeks. But he had a little thing.

“(It is) a big concern because he is such an important player for us. He was getting some momentum at the start of the season and then we lost him for a while. Now it has been a long time without him.

“He gives us something different that no other player can give us in the squad so he will be a miss.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is more concerned about Darwin Nunez’s physical state than his mental one after the Uruguay international emerged as a doubt for the crucial trip to Arsenal.

Nunez set a new record for the number of times one player has hit the frame of the goal in a game with four in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Chelsea, taking his tally to nine in the Premier League alone and six more than anyone else.

The 24-year-old is regularly criticised for not scoring enough but Nunez has 11 goals in all competitions and an assist count also in double figures.

However, after an all-action display in which he provided the cross for Luis Diaz to score the fourth, he left Anfield in a protective boot having played for more than an hour with a foot problem which may keep him out of Sunday’s clash at the Emirates.

“I don’t know if Darwin will be available or not because after 20 minutes someone stepped on his foot (and it was) very painful after the game,” said Klopp.

“He only took the boot off after the game because he didn’t want to see it before. He knew there was something.

“Nothing broken, X-ray clear but swollen. We have to see if he can get his foot back in a football boot or not. That takes time.”

The injury did not appear to hamper Nunez too much and did not affect his confidence when he chose to step up for a penalty with regular taker Mohamed Salah sidelined – only to plant the spot-kick against an upright.

Klopp said that moment was a blow to the forward’s morale but his reaction proved there was no hangover.

“It impacts him of course, he is a human being. If it didn’t affect him that would be strange,” added the manager, whose press conference was briefly interrupted by a journalist’s phone on the desk receiving a call from his dentist which the manager seemed keen to answer.

“The penalty he missed that hit him definitely but he knows he will have another chance.

“But going through this game with the pain he had that shows so much more.

“I don’t judge Darwin because of the crossbar moments. I judge him for the assist for Lucho (Diaz).

“That is outstanding football-wise, not being bothered about your own bad luck, just staying in the game.”

But while Nunez can have numerous chances and not take one Liverpool also have a forward who is far more deadly.

While Nunez is averaging a goal every 186 minutes in the Premier League, scoring every 8.5 shots, with 32 of 60 shots on target, his team-mate is averaging one every 106 minutes, scoring every 2.3 shots, has had 12 of 19 shots on target and has not hit a post this season.

The Portugal international scored the opener against Chelsea in midweek in a run of four in as many games and 13 for the season.

“He just has it. He is a complete package. He knows that and everyone knows that,” said Klopp of Jota.

“Diogo gets in each game knocks like crazy: if I go through the list of medical reports since Diogo is here he is in each and every one, not as injured but has a bruise, has a knock.

“A few injuries at a wrong time and he is out for too long or his numbers would look different.

“But he is literally flying. On top of that he always is an extremely smart footballer and can play all three positions up front, which is important when Mo is not here.”

Gabriel Jesus has vowed to make scoring goals his priority after inspiring Arsenal to a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.

The Brazil forward, who shook off a knee injury to play in the game, opened the scoring in the 65th minute and then laid on a second for Bukayo Saka seven minutes later.

Jesus has had questions asked of him after scoring 19 goals in 56 games in all competitions since his £45million move from Manchester City in summer 2022, but he has been a creative force, registering 12 assists in that time.

The 26-year-old, who has scored 73 Premier League goals in total, now wants to concentrate on adding to that tally.

“Sometimes it is all about stats and sometimes it is all about watching the game,” he said. “Let’s go, come on.

“If you watch the game, you see me playing… I am close to 100 in the Premier League – that’s not easy.

“Then in the Champions League I am scoring a lot, in the national team I score. Sometimes, like I say, I am not focused on that (scoring goals) and that’s I think my mistake.

“So now, I think I change my mindset and I will be in the box more – and I try everything to score.”

Jesus is also working on keeping positive after missing chances – something he did at the City Ground as he scored moments after hitting the post.

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“Also I am changing my mindset, I think I am more focused on the game now,” he said. “Before, when I miss one or two chances (I may have got disheartened)… I think that was not the case today.

“I think I created and my team gave me the ball – it was amazing – and I hit the post. I think it was more unlucky than a miss, but I keep trying.

“A minute after, I create another one and I miss the time to shoot, but I keep working, I keep trying, I keep focused on the game.

“I try to find another way to score and it worked. Sometimes it is all about this. Keep trying and then it works.”

Jesus earned the praise of boss Mikel Arteta for his desire to play in the game despite a knee problem.

“Gabi started to win the game two days ago,” the Spaniard said. “He had an issue with his knee and everyone was trying to protect him and saying don’t go outside.

“But he was saying (matchday) -2, (matchday) -1, I want to be there I want to help the team to win the game. When you have that mentality, good things are going to happen. I’m really pleased with him.

“He got hit big time in the last game. His knee reacted and it’s the knee he had (surgery on) before. He was super positive, he’s feeling good and he was so sharp in training. I’m not surprised with the way he played.”

Forest grabbed a late consolation through Taiwo Awoniyi on his first appearance since November following groin surgery, the Nigeria striker having been introduced as a half-time replacement for the injured Chris Wood.

“His hamstring felt very tight,” head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said of the New Zealand international. “There was a big risk of injury. He was not feeling OK to continue, so that’s why we made the change.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta “loved” seeing Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko clash with each other at the end of his side’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners were cruising to an easy three points at the City Ground after second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka but endured a nervy ending when Taiwo Awoniyi capitalised on a defensive mistake to give Forest a lifeline.

They saw out the victory which closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool, but celebrations were cut short when White and Zinchenko had to be separated after arguing over the goal they conceded.

Arteta said: “I love it, they demand more from each other and they are not happy with the way they concede that and they are trying to resolve it.

“It was a bit heated, but that means it is not enough playing the way we played, the result has to be bigger.

“That’s pushing each other and being not happy conceding and I have to encourage that and promote it in the right way and a respectful way.

“Sometimes after the game it’s emotional and heated, but I love that the players are pushing each other and demanding excellence.”

The victory saw the Gunners exorcise the ghosts of last season when May’s 1-0 defeat at the City Ground saw their title challenge come to an end.

And Arteta was pleased to see his side put that right.

“I could feel it, they were talking about it coming to that dressing room,” he said. “It really reminds you, our brains and bodies are really intelligent and coming to the same situation they know what happened and they were really active and engaged and they were talking about the game with each other.

“I thought it was really good.

“I am really happy with the performance and the result. We saw what happened last year and we wanted to put it right, we wanted to generate some momentum in the league and I thought we did that.

“The performance was very good, we completely dominated the game. We had to be patient but we always had an eye to the opponent, we didn’t allow them to run.”

Awoniyi’s goal raised Forest’s hopes of snatching a draw, which would have been a steal considering they made no real attempt to win the match, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s pragmatic approach.

Defeat leaves them hovering precariously above the relegation zone, with the threat of a possible points deduction for breaching Premier League financial rules.

Boss Nuno said: “First half, we defended well. We were organised, compact and didn’t allow too many situations.

“Arsenal are a very good team in possession of the ball. We had to be patient and cover the right spaces in the wide areas.

“We were missing more possession of the ball. We should have had more possession; that was a negative. We were better in that aspect in the second half.

“We started the second half well and had good spells of possession. It was disappointing the way we conceded both goals.

“It was avoidable. We can avoid those situations.

“After we scored, there was a feeling we could have got something. We had a good 10-minute spell. But to sum up, we should have played better.”

Arsenal overcame a sluggish first-half performance to cut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to two points after a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners looked toothless in the first half, but rallied to register three big points thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.

The result leaves them on the coattails of Liverpool, who can extend their lead back to five points against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Forest had no intention of going for the win in a pragmatic approach deployed by Nuno Espirito Santo, but they made a game of it late on as Taiwo Awoniyi slammed home in the 89th minute.

Arsenal saw it out to end a three-game losing streak at the City Ground and exorcise the ghosts of last season’s defeat, which saw their title challenge come to an end.

Forest’s situation at the foot of the Premier League is looking precarious, as they sit two points above the relegation zone with the threat of a points deduction for breaking financial rules hanging over them.

It is not in Nuno’s make-up to play an expansive game and his plan was to put men behind the ball and ask Arsenal the question of whether they could break them down.

The first half provided an answer of a resounding no, as for all their possession and territorial advantage the Gunners lacked a cutting edge to trouble Forest.

They had seven shots on target but none of them tested their former team-mate Matt Turner in the Forest goal, with Saka’s snapshot which deflected off Murillo and just wide the nearest they came to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes.

Forest offered next to nothing as an attacking force, registering just one pass in the final third in the opening half-hour, with Danilo’s drive over the crossbar from distance their only real foray forward.

The Gunners began to turn the screw after the second half and put Forest’s goal under serious threat for the first time.

Turner was forced into his first save when he palmed away Saka’s deflected effort with a strong hand before their best moment came four minutes later.

An intricate move involving Saka and Martin Odegaard led to Jesus being played in but he smashed his effort from a narrow angle into a post.

Eventually Arsenal’s pressure told as they took the lead in the 65th minute, though Turner will not want to see it again.

Forest switched off from Zinchenko’s throw-in and Jesus burst to the byline where his toe-poked shot went through Turner’s legs and into the back of the net.

Turner has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after a number of high-profile mistakes, but has been backed by Nuno, himself a former goalkeeper, though this may change things.

It was 2-0 seven minutes later after a breakaway goal. Gonzalo Montiel fluffed a clearance on the halfway line, skewing straight to Odegaard, who set Jesus free and he picked out Saka at the far post, with the England international making no mistake.

Forest had rarely threatened but Awoniyi, making his first appearance since November, converted after William Saliba’s mistake late on, though they could find a leveller.

Arsenal and Manchester City enjoyed important away victories at Liverpool and Tottenham respectively to keep pace with Women’s Super League leaders and defending champions Chelsea.

Vivianne Miedema, who sat out 312 days with an anterior cruciate ligament injury before making an October comeback, netted her first goal since December 2022 at the hour mark of Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Prenton Park.

Leah Williamson returned from her own ACL recovery as a substitute in Arsenal’s midweek Conti Cup victory over Reading and was named in the Gunners squad by boss Jonas Eidevall – celebrating both his 41st  birthday and 100 games in charge – but did not play.

January signing and player of the match Emily Fox was instrumental in the build-up to both goals, Arsenal’s second coming via a left-footed effort from Caitlin Foord as the Gunners became the first side in WSL history to reach 500 points.

The result drew Arsenal level with City on 28 points, three behind the Blues.

City’s advantage on goal difference is largely due to the prolific efforts of Khadija Shaw, who netted her joint WSL-leading 12th of the campaign in her side’s 2-0 victory at Tottenham.

City had won this fixture by a seven-goal margin in November and while Spurs proved sterner opposition this time, Jamaica star Shaw, level with the Blues’ Lauren James as the WSL’s top goal-scorer with Sunday’s strike, still made her mark.

An own goal from Tottenham defender Amy Turner put Gareth Taylor’s side in the ascendancy after nine minutes and Shaw wrapped up the points.

Spurs stay sixth after Robert Vilahamn saw his team’s four-match winning run end despite a solid display at Brisbane Road.

Nikita Parris’ brace made the difference in Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to ease the pressure on head coach Marc Skinner, who had faced calls to leave from some fans.

United, having been cast adrift of the top three after losing three of their previous five league matches, remain 10 points behind the leaders but still in the mix of clubs vying for Champions League places next season.

Both of Parris’ goals came in the first half as United earned only their second home league win of the season, with Rachel Daly pulling one back on the hour mark with a controversially-awarded penalty.

Defeat capped a difficult week for Villa, who are waiting to find out if they will be expelled from the League Cup after fielding the ineligible Noelle Maritz as a substitute during Wednesday’s 7-0 victory at Sunderland.

Elsewhere, Janice Cayman fired Leicester to a 1-0 victory over Everton, the second time the Foxes have defeated the Toffees in five days after Wednesday’s 5-1 Conti Cup win.

Bristol City remain in the WSL’s relegation place and in search of just their second win of the campaign after they fell 2-1 to West Ham in their bottom-two battle.

Honoka Hayashi’s 13th-minute opener was cancelled out by Amalie Thestrup after the restart, but Viviane Asseyi ensured her side would end the afternoon three points clear of their opponents when she fired home to secure an all-important victory in the 55th minute.

What the papers say

Al-Nassr are planning to offer Manchester United a pair of “audacious” bids for midfielder Casemiro and defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the Daily Mail reports, in the wake of the Tottenham’s refusal to offload Emerson Royal to the Saudi league outfit.

Also from the Mail, Lyon are said to be targeting winger Arnaut Danjuma in the transfer window, as apparently the 26-year-old’s parent club Villarreal have become frustrated at his lack of game time while on loan at Everton.

According to the Sun, Manchester Untied are leading the race to sign Bologna’s Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee despite interest from Arsenal.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Victor Osimhen: The 25-year-old has hinted that he is ready to leave Napoli, with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Real Madrid keen on the Nigerian, 90 Min reports.

Antonio Nusa: Newcastle are considering hijacking Tottenham’s proposed move for Club Bruges’ teenage forward, with Football Insider claiming he is seen as a direct replacement for Miguel Almiron who may leave Tyneside for Saudi side Al-Shabab.

Karim Benzema: Chelsea are interested in signing the 36-year-old French forward from Al-Ittihad, claims the Guardian.

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson feels his players are still committed to the cause despite the crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal which revived concerns about the 76-year-old’s continued suitability to lead them.

Palace finally seemed to be emerging from a considerable injury crisis when the influential Michael Olise, who sat out a lengthy spell to start the season, sustained a second hamstring issue in their vital 3-1 victory over Brentford to close out 2023.

With Jordan Ayew on Ghana duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Emirates Stadium trip following on a midweek FA Cup third-round replay loss to Everton, Hodgson was once again forced to cope with diminished attacking options and a tired squad on an afternoon that provided few hopeful sparks for fans in the away end, some of whom raised banners protesting a perceived lack of direction at their club.

Hodgson said: “We were outplayed, in particular towards the end of the game, but up until that period I thought the players still showed that they are still committed and they were still wanting to do well for the club.

“First of all, they’ve got to stick very much with the work that they’ve been doing on the training field, that they stick together in terms of their attitude.

“To be honest, I didn’t think the attitude during the course of the game was particularly debatable. I didn’t see people losing hope or losing faith, we kept going, we were playing against a better team.

“The message has got to be, listen, there are no magic wands in football. It’s got to be done on the field of play.

“I think we’ve shown over the last year that we have capabilities in that respect, and I’m not prepared to suddenly dismiss those capabilities on the basis of losing 1-0 to Everton and Arsenal away from home.”

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck two near-identical goals past Dean Henderson in as many minutes of second-half stoppage time to consign the visitors to the crushing defeat.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta agreed the achievement would give the Brazilian a boost, revealing the 22-year-old had not felt 100 per cent in the build-up to Saturday’s contest before he doubled his Premier League goal tally for the season in a single afternoon.

Arteta said: “I think that is going to make him really good. Sometimes when you are in that period, and he had a little issue in the last few days in training so he wasn’t fully, fully fit, that changes momentum, it changes perception, it re-energises you. It’s everything.”

The Gunners, who were eliminated by Liverpool in their own third-round FA Cup clash, next travel to Nottingham Forest before facing Jurgen Klopp’s men again in a massive meeting for their title hopes.

Arteta added: “At the moment we are really short in numbers, so we really have to manage a few players, especially players that have played a lot of football.

“We have good training blocks, one to train really hard and other ones to use for game preparation, so we’re going to have to try to maximise that space.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson deflected to the club’s decision-makers when asked if his side’s crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal could raise questions about his job security.

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli buried the Eagles with two goals inside two minutes of second-half stoppage time, adding to Gabriel and Leandro Trossard’s earlier efforts and a Dean Henderson own goal that all-but guaranteed the hosts victory before half-time.

As Palace defender Chris Richards nodded over a chance to claw back a late consolation, away supporters raised a banner reading “wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards” while another protested “no shared vision, no structured plan”.

Hodgson, when asked if he felt he had unified support of his boyhood club’s board and those above, replied: “That’s a question for them, isn’t it? But if you’re asking me if I’ve ever felt a lack of support from them, then the answer is no.

“I think they’ve been good, but I mean now in [the] situation that you’re obviously discussing, in this scenario you’re envisaging, that’s going to be a question for them.”

He later added: “When a team isn’t doing as well as it should be doing, someone needs to be held responsible, and that’s the manager.”

The Eagles’ vital victory over Brentford to end 2023 and snap an eight-game winless streak seemed to subdue Hodgson’s critics, but Saturday’s result will no doubt loudly revive that chorus, particularly following on from their midweek third-round FA Cup replay loss to Everton in which the former England manager controversially substituted the influential Eberechi Eze.

While he and his players felt there were “infringements” ignored by referee Paul Tierney in the build-up to the opening pair of goals, Hodgson took the blame for Martinelli’s quickfire brace, admitting he had perhaps erred in removing some of his tiring starters in favour of “young lads, and it was too much to ask them to go on and deal with a rampant Arsenal”.

Hodgson understood the frustration from the disillusioned Palace fanbase, adding: “All I can say is I think they are totally entitled to their opinion in that respect. I do understand their frustration, even anger and disappointment, and things haven’t gone better.

“We can make our excuses which we’ve been doing because certain things have worked against us in this period of time, but the bottom line is that if we’re going to go forward and avoid relegation and do well, we need those fans with us. Hopefully we can do our best to keep them on board.”

Arsenal, meanwhile, avoided a fourth-straight defeat across all competitions and kept within striking distance of the Premier League title.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was particularly pleased with the way his side worked their set-pieces in their first top-flight meeting of 2024, saying: “Credit to all the coaches, to Nico [Jover, set-piece coach] for the amount of time and belief we put in.

“It’s got a huge impact. We’ve seen that as well in recent games that we’ve lost when we’ve conceded set-pieces, so the outcome is very different when you don’t concede and score.

“We wanted to start the second part of the season with a great performance, with a great result, and build that positivity and momentum again, and I think the boys did a good job today.”

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored a late double to consign Crystal Palace to a crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal which increases the pressure on Roy Hodgson.

Gabriel nodded in the opener for the Gunners, while Eagles keeper Dean Henderson was credited with an own goal and Leandro Trossard grabbed the third on an afternoon that rarely saw Hodgson’s side pose a threat.

Eberechi Eze marked a century of Premier League appearances after he was controversially replaced in the 64th minute of Wednesday’s FA Cup third-round replay loss to Everton and provided the occasional bright spark for the visitors.

It was hardly enough to please the away supporters, who raised banners protesting against the direction of their club before Martinelli buried their side moments later.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko returned to Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up for the Gunners, who were ahead seconds after the 10-minute mark when Gabriel leveraged the shoulders of Palace defender Chris Richards to rise highest and head home Declan Rice’s corner.

Palace were lucky to avoid falling further behind when a dangerous deflection off midfielder Jefferson Lerma flew towards the top left corner of his own net only to clip the woodwork.

That sigh of relief did little to relieve the overall pressure, Palace rarely finding themselves in the vicinity of the Gunners’ goal until the half hour, when Eze fired a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into a wall of red shirts.

David Raya was finally called into action when his own clearance only travelled as far as Lerma, who forced the Arsenal keeper into a low, diving save at his left post.

The Gunners doubled their advantage in the 37th minute when Gabriel nodded Bukayo Saka’s corner towards Henderson’s net and was initially awarded the goal, which stood after a VAR check but subsequently changed to an own goal for the Palace keeper.

There was a late attempt by Lerma, who had just been treated for what initially looked to be a head or neck injury, comfortably saved, while an onrushing Trossard failed to find the back of the net in first-half added time.

Palace had scored two or more goals in just five of their Premier League meetings going into this 21st encounter and desperately hoped to make it six after the break, when Henderson denied Rice and Raya safely handled Eze’s effort.

The chances kept coming for Arsenal, who were denied a possible penalty after a VAR consultation, and they were soon three goals to the good after Jesus’ pinpoint pass found Trossard, who weaved around Nathaniel Clyne and neatly finished to the top left.

Richards nodded over in added-time, in full view of supporters in the away end who raised a banner reading “wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards”.

Moments later, substitute Martinelli fired in the hosts’ fourth, then a near-identical fifth.

Mikel Arteta insists Emile Smith Rowe is settled at Arsenal amid reported interest from West Ham.

Smith Rowe has endured a frustrating time since he hit 10 goals in the 2021-22 campaign, with groin surgery restricting his role in the club’s unsuccessful title challenge last season.

England international Smith Rowe has also struggled with a knee issue this term, but even when he has been fit the 23-year-old has been reduced to cameo appearances with only one Premier League start among 12 outings in all competitions.

West Ham have reportedly made an approach to sign Smith Rowe on loan but Arteta played down talk the academy graduate could leave this month ahead of Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace.

Arteta said: “I’m really happy with Emile. He’s in the right trajectory.

“Now, he’s settled, he’s training really well and you know I’m not going to talk about individual situations.

“Emile is Emile. We know he’s got incredible qualities and we’re really happy to have him.

“What he needs now is chances to put all the desire and quality that he has on the pitch. In order to do that we have to give him minutes.”

Chances have been few and far between for Smith Rowe in recent weeks despite Arsenal struggling to match their consistency from the opening months of the season.

An FA Cup defeat to Liverpool on January 7 made it three losses in a row and one victory from their last seven matches, but the players have returned from a warm-weather training camp in Dubai “fully recharged” according to their manager.

“We are recharged, full of energy and super motivated so we want to attack the second half of the season with a lot of ambition and the understanding that the team is capable of big things. They are convinced of that,” Arteta added.

“It was a phenomenal camp. We recharged our batteries and the context of the environment, in the beautiful weather, helps. The togetherness and moments we shared together were great, so yeah we’re fully recharged.”

Goals have been an issue for Arsenal during this poor seven-match run with only five goals scored in that period, but Arteta reiterated they would not move for a striker in the January transfer window.

“No, because I love the players that we have,” he insisted.

Arteta was also coy over Arsenal’s list of absentees, with Oleksandr Zinchenko (foot) and Gabriel Jesus (knee) notable absentees for the defeat to Liverpool before Arsenal’s mid-season break.

“Individually, I am not going to tell you exactly how everyone is,” Arteta explained. “We are touch and go with a few. You will see.”

The Arsenal boss was more forthcoming about the progress of Jurrien Timber, who sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in August but joined the squad for the training camp.

Arteta revealed: “At the moment he’s still very far from competing. That’s the realistic picture of it.

“Are we hopeful that he could have a realistic impact before the end of the season? If everything goes well, it looks like that might happen. At the moment though it’s too early to make that call.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell is dealing with another unexpected twist in his transfer window plans after losing loan striker Mika Biereth.

Biereth has been recalled by Arsenal in favour of another loan move elsewhere, possibly Sheffield Wednesday, to leave Well without their top goalscorer.

The Denmark Under-21 international provided six goals and five assists in 11 cinch Premiership starts and three substitute appearances during a stay in Scotland which was interrupted by a knee injury.

Kettlewell said: “Mika has been recalled. It’s been a difficult one for us over the last 24 hours. It’s a major, major disappointment.

“This was a little bit unexpected. The conversation was that Mika would stay here until the end of the season just last week, unless something really big came on the table for Arsenal that they couldn’t turn down.

“They believe there’s an opportunity to send him to another club that takes him that step beyond where we are just now.

“There’s been a huge thank you from Arsenal on how we have handled the player and the strides he has made over the last five months. We loved working with him, we loved having him in the group but the situation is out of our control.”

The news comes quickly after the major blow of losing Callum Slattery for the rest of the season to a knee problem which the midfielder suffered in training.

Kettlewell admitted that injury had already “massively” altered his January plans before the surprise loss of Biereth.

“Callum has played almost every minute and been a huge player for us,” he added.

“I think for the first seven or eight games of the season Callum Slattery was right up there in the top performers in the division. He has been good in a lot of other games as well.

“That injury was a huge blow for me, especially for Callum, and the club. It starts to point you in different directions and you start to have a look at different types of players that we probably didn’t think we were going to need.

“So that makes it a big challenge because you are another starter down but we are not able to magic up more funds to replace that.”

Motherwell had also seen wing-back Brodie Spencer recalled halfway through a loan spell from Huddersfield and allowed forward Conor Wilkinson to join Colchester, while Pape Souare was released.

Celtic left-back Adam Montgomery arrived on loan earlier this week while Barry Maguire and Nathan McGinley are back from temporary spells and other transfer talks remain ongoing.

“There’s been plenty of conversations, some of them are still spinning and some of them are trundling along, and several aren’t,” said Kettlewell, who remains without the injured Oli Shaw, Shane Blaney and Lennon Miller for Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie against Alloa.

“Other clubs in this division can blow us out of the water for instance.

“There’s plenty of knockbacks and disappointment in there but I do hope we are in a decent position with a couple of players and I would love to think that over the next few days we can try and get some of them over the line.”

The January transfer window gives clubs an opportunity to reshape their squad for the second half of the season or for players to take on fresh challenges. Here, the PA news agency looks at who is making some of the headlines.

Manchester United

After performing way below expectations during the first half of the campaign, the need for a squad refresh at Old Trafford is clear. Primarily, Erik Ten Hag would seem to require a forward to give the attack more of a cutting edge and a defender, where he has not settled on a preferred centre-back pairing. New faces would also give the place a lift in general but some players may need to be moved on first. The futures of Rafael Varane and Casemiro are uncertain while Anthony Martial is again being linked with a move away. Outcast Jadon Sancho appears set for a loan move to former club Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea

The Stamford Bridge outfit have spent more than £1billion on transfer fees over the past 18 months but results this season indicate they have not yet got things right. Bringing a centre forward would appear to be a necessity for manager Mauricio Pochettino but the Londoners also need to give serious thought to balancing the books. Outgoings are likely with rumours abounding over the future of Conor Gallagher, despite some impressive recent performances. With his contract due to expire in 2025, the England midfielder could be let go for around £50million.

Kalvin Phillips

Phillips has failed to establish himself at Manchester City since his £42million switch from Leeds in the summer of 2022. Injuries curtailed his involvement last season and, with so much quality in Pep Guardiola’s squad, even substitute appearances have been few and far between. As Euro 2024 approaches, Phillips may have to move now to ensure he stays in the England picture. Newcastle are apparently keen but there has also been reported interest from Juventus.

Jordan Henderson

The former Liverpool captain could be on the move again after reports emerged over the weekend that he would like to cut short his stay in Saudi Arabia, where he signed a three-year contract with Al-Ettifaq amid much controversy last summer. At 33 and still firmly in the England plans, Henderson could be an attractive proposition for many clubs based purely on football terms, but the financial obstacles to bringing him back to Europe could be significant. It remains to be seen if genuine interest emerges but a loan move could be a possibility. A return to Anfield would seem unlikely with Liverpool’s midfield having been rebuilt since his departure.

Ivan Toney

The England striker is set to return to action this month as his eight-month ban for multiple breaches of betting regulations comes to an end. Given their poor form of late, Brentford will undoubtedly welcome the striker back with open arms and he has said he is keen to repay the club for their support during his suspension. However, his value remains high and with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea both looking for goalscorers, potentially head-turning approaches are more than possible.

William Saliba has vowed Arsenal will come back stronger after they suffered a third consecutive defeat on Sunday.

The Gunners created a number of chances, especially in the first half but exited the FA Cup in the third round following a 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool.

It saw Mikel Arteta’s team conclude a difficult festive period on another low after a run of four defeats in their last seven matches.

Arsenal will get the chance to reset with no fixture until January 20 and they are set to spend this week away in Dubai at a warm-weather training camp.

“We have to stick together,” Saliba said.

“We know we’re not in our best moment, but we won’t give up and we’ll come back even stronger.

“We will work a lot during this break, we will breathe a little bit. We will stick together and come back stronger and better.”

Arsenal were top of the Premier League on Christmas Day, but have only scored once in their last three fixtures in all competitions.

Like in their 2-0 loss to West Ham, their final home clash of 2023, the Gunners were wasteful in front of goal against Liverpool and made to pay when Jakub Kiwior headed an own goal past Aaron Ramsdale in the 80th minute.

Luis Diaz confirmed Liverpool’s place in round four with a fine finish after a slick counter-attack, but it could have been a different story had Reiss Nelson, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz taken excellent first-half chances.

Arteta played down talk of a January move for a forward and insisted the fans must stick with his young side.

Saliba told the official club website: “I’m really disappointed because we started the game so well.

“We had too many chances too score, but we didn’t. Even in the second half, we were good. Unfortunately we conceded one free kick 10 minutes before the end.

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“We have to kill the game off before because when we have so many chances like this, we have to score.

“We have to defend free kicks better, we cannot concede like this, so we can be really disappointed.”

Arsenal were without forward Gabriel Jesus for the visit of Liverpool due to another knee injury, but Arteta played down concerns.

“He had some pain in his knee. We have done a scan that shows something,” Arteta insisted.

“Hopefully it’s not something big. It’s the same knee that he had before, so we could not take any risks.”

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal need a psychological “reset” after they could not capitalise on chances in their 2-0 FA Cup third-round loss to Liverpool at the Emirates.

The Gunners dominated the first half but Jakub Kiwior conceded an own goal after 80 minutes before Luis Diaz’s neat finish in second half added-time was enough for Jurgen Klopp’s men to claim victory.

Arteta’s side now have just one win in seven matches across all competitions and the boss agreed his side risk falling into a mental slump after failing to find the finishing touch.

He said: “Probably it has (become a psychological issue). Especially after today, more than it was against Fulham or West Ham before that. That’s why I think we need to reset. This break is good. It comes in a good time.

“We’re going to as well feel how we feel and how I feel about them in difficult moments. Hopefully I can see that from other people too. When things are going well they jump on the train. Now things are difficult, let’s see where they stand.

“We haven’t capitalised. Not just today, but in the last few games as well. That’s why we’re not winning games. Merit-wise there is no question that we deserve to win the games but the results are very different.

“But when my team plays with that courage and attitude against probably the best team in Europe right now in terms of momentum what can I do but stick by them and support them?

“What we need to do now is stick behind those players, give them some love, train them and make sure they visualise something very different to what is actually happening now. They’ve done it. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel, because they’ve done it.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was delighted by his side’s second-half reply, but brushed aside any suggestion he might look at the result as a harbinger for the Premier League title race, or even a boost for the Reds’ confidence in that chase.

He said: “No. I can’t (read into it). It doesn’t mean nobody can, but I can’t. We don’t have a problem with belief and confidence, we are not really bothered about the things you are talking about because we can read the calendar.

“We see it’s January; it’s cold outside, stuff like this, and you just have to stay warm and play as good as you can, and that’s what we try.”

Klopp was more forthcoming about his squad, rattling off a list of injured and absent, including Virgil van Dijk, who was ruled out with illness before the contest but remains a “hopeful” return for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg with Fulham.

He added: “It’s a tough game, nobody comes to Arsenal and wins just like this [clicks fingers], so in this game there will be difficult moments [and] if we start in these moments – which humans very often do – [looking] for excuses and then we realise who else is not here, it’s normal that we have these problems, then we are screwed.

“But if you know these kinds of things you can avoid it – and that’s what we did. The boys enjoyed the game, at least in the second half. That’s really cool. Staying in a game that looked in the first half like that, then growing into a game, is a pretty special thing to do.”