Konsa and Gabriel put Arsenal level with City as Saka faces six weeks out
Sunday 25 October 2026 · By Sarah Mitchell
Two centre-backs scored on Saturday, and Arsenal are level on points with Manchester City at the top. Ezri Konsa and Gabriel scored in a 2–0 win over Everton at the Emirates, Arsenal’s first game without Bukayo Saka.
Konsa opened the scoring from a corner after seven minutes. It was his first goal for the club and Arsenal’s first set-piece goal of the season. Gabriel headed in Ben White’s cross on 68 minutes, in his 200th Premier League appearance. It was also White’s 200th game for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta made five changes. The win was Arsenal’s eighth in a row at home, and the attendance was 60,207. Everton have now won once in 31 visits to Arsenal’s north London home, according to the club.
Both sides have 21 points from eight games, with City ahead on goal difference.
The news on Saka is less positive. The BBC reported on Friday that Arsenal fear he will miss “a minimum of six weeks, and it could be even longer” with the quadriceps injury he suffered in Munich. Fluid around the injury made a diagnosis difficult. Arteta said repeat scans are due in “a week, ten days”, so no return date has been set.
If that estimate holds, Saka will also miss England’s Nations League games against Croatia and Spain.
Arteta described the fixture schedule as “terrible”, Goal reported.
The next fortnight shows why. Arsenal go to Fleetwood for a last-16 cup tie on Tuesday (20:00 GMT). They then visit Liverpool on Sunday 1 November (16:30 GMT), before a Champions League trip to Slavia Prague on Wednesday 4 November.
On Monday evening, Declan Rice, Gabriel and William Saliba are among the nominees at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London. David Raya, Arteta and the club itself are also shortlisted.
Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze both stepped up against Everton. With Saka out, Arteta will need more from them before the November break.
Emirates Stadium is Arsenal’s home in Holloway, north London, a 60,704-seat bowl that opened in 2006 a few hundred metres from Highbury. For visiting supporters it is a modern, well-run Premier League ground: cashless, steeply raked, and organised around a colour-coded quadrant system. Away fans sit in the green south-east corner of the Clock End, wrapping from the south goal toward the East Stand. The standard league allocation is about 3,000 seats; cup ties can rise higher. Expect an angled corner view rather than a dead-centre behind-the-goal seat.
The pitch runs north to south, as it did at Highbury. The North Bank sits behind the north goal and is the loudest home end. The Clock End sits behind the south goal and still carries a recreation of Herbert Chapman’s famous Highbury clock. The East and West Stands run the length of the touchlines. The players’ tunnel and dugouts are on the west side, under the main television camera. That orientation matters when you arrive: the away section looks toward the North Bank, so the far goal is the home end rather than the one immediately in front of you.
Gates for visiting supporters usually open two hours before kick-off. Turnstiles for the away allocation are typically K and L on the south-east side. Security searches are thorough, so leave spare time and travel light. Arsenal operate a tight bag policy; large backpacks are refused. The stadium is cashless throughout, including the dedicated away concourse bars and food points. Arrive early if you want a drink before the crush, and note that prices follow central-London matchday levels.
Public transport is the only sensible option. There is no general matchday parking, and surrounding streets sit inside Islington’s controlled zone. Arsenal station on the Piccadilly line is the closest stop, about three minutes from the ground, but it is small, not step-free, and grim after full time. Finsbury Park (Piccadilly, Victoria and National Rail) is the better all-round choice for visiting fans: larger platforms, more exits, and a 10–15 minute walk that keeps you on the south and west approaches rather than mixing through the home funnel at Gillespie Road. Highbury & Islington is another useful alternative. Holloway Road and Drayton Park have matchday restrictions; check before you travel. After the whistle, away supporters are usually steered out toward Drayton Park and Finsbury Park rather than through home areas around Arsenal station.
Pre-match drinking for away fans is limited and segregated. The Drayton Park, next to the stadium, is the usual designated stop and fills early. Mixed pubs nearer Finsbury Park exist but lean home; treat them with caution. Coach parties use designated parking on Queensland Road and Hornsey Road. If you need accessible seating or parking, arrange it through your club’s disability liaison officer well in advance — Arsenal hold a small number of away accessible spaces on a match-by-match basis.
Inside, the bowl is continuous and sightlines are generally good. Lower-tier rows put you close to the pitch; the upper tier is steep enough that the whole field stays readable even from the back. The south-east corner is not the prettiest angle in the ground, but it is a proper football view rather than a restricted one. Flags and banners are welcome in the away section if they meet stadium rules. Keep tickets handy, follow stewards on the way out, and give yourself extra time for the Tube. The Emirates is a polished, big-club stadium — get there early, sit in the green quadrant, and you will have a straightforward away day in north London.