THREE STARS STAY HOME: MIKEL ARTETA CONFIRMS ARSENAL SQUAD FOR INTER MILAN SHOWDOWN
Mikel Arteta rules out three key players for Arsenal's trip to Inter Milan. Get the latest on Hincapie and Calafiori’s recovery.
Mikel Arteta has ruled out Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori, and Max Dowman for Arsenal’s upcoming Champions League match against Inter Milan.
Hincapie, who arrived on loan from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, has missed the last three games with a groin injury. Calafiori hasn’t played since the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace back in December—he’s out with a muscle problem and has already skipped seven games. Then there’s Max Dowman, the young midfielder, who’s been sidelined since injuring his ankle ligaments in an Under-21 friendly at the start of last month.
All three are still rehabbing and haven’t returned to first-team training, so they won’t be making the trip to Italy. There’s hope they’ll be back soon, but not just yet.
On the brighter side, Arteta says Kai Havertz and Christian Mosquera are fully fit and ready for Tuesday night’s showdown at San Siro. When asked if there were any other updates, he kept it short: “No, that’s all.”
Arteta wanted fans to know the team goes into every game looking to win, no matter how many injuries they’re dealing with. “Every game’s its own story,” he said. “Players are at different stages, but we’ll put out the best line-up and finishers we can to win.”
Inter actually ended Arsenal’s unbeaten European run last season, with Hakan Calhanoglu scoring the winner from the penalty spot. But things look different this time. Inter have a new manager, Cristian Chivu, and Arteta has noticed the changes. “It’s a similar context to last year, even if both teams are in slightly different places now,” he said. “Their new managers put their stamp on them. They’re still a really competitive side, dominating in their league. It’s going to be a tough match.”
When someone brought up whether this game could help build momentum, Arteta didn’t hesitate: “Every Champions League game gives you a chance to achieve something. You have to take it. Tomorrow, we’ll have to earn it against a top side. That’s what we’re preparing for.”
Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres had another frustrating afternoon as Arsenal drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest in the league. Arteta had sympathy for his striker. “It’s tough for all the number nines in the Premier League nowadays,” he said. “The centre-backs are physical, they dominate, and there’s hardly any space for strikers to exploit. But it’s about consistency, going again. We know how hard Viktor works; he’s giving his all, and we’ll keep working with him.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SNUB: FABRIZIO ROMANO REVEALS MATHYS TEL IS "FUMING" AT THOMAS FRANK.
Thomas Frank excludes Mathys Tel from Spurs' UCL squad as Roma submit loan offers for the striker and Radu Dragusin this January.
Tottenham have offers on the table from Roma for both Radu Dragusin and Mathys Tel, and at the same time, Spurs are trying to find a way out for Alejo Veliz, if you believe the latest reports.
Things aren’t going well in north London. Tottenham are stuck in 14th place in the Premier League. Thomas Frank’s team has only managed seven wins out of 22 league matches this season and just one victory in their last eight games across all competitions. The pressure is piling up on Frank. He needs results, and fast. No wonder he’s hoping the January transfer window brings some much-needed changes.
There’s a lot of movement happening. Frank has upset Mathys Tel, who only just joined permanently from Bayern Munich in the summer, by leaving him out of the Champions League squad for the Borussia Dortmund clash. That didn’t go over well.
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano posted on X: “Tottenham manager Thomas Frank excludes Mathys Tel from Champions League squad list. Frank makes space for Dominic Solanke, and the only way was to remove Tel. The French striker and his camp are not happy at all with the decision.”
Now, Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia) says Roma are officially talking to Spurs about signing both Tel and Dragusin in January. Roma’s been after Dragusin for a while, but now they’ve also put in an offer for Tel. Both deals would be loans, since both players are frustrated at Tottenham and want more minutes in the second half of the season.
Apparently, Dragusin has already agreed to join Roma on loan this month, but Spurs want Roma to commit to buying him at the end of the deal.
Meanwhile, Alejo Veliz is turning into a real headache for Tottenham. He’s on loan at Rosario Central in Argentina, but according to Cadena 3, Spurs are seriously thinking about paying compensation just to cut the loan short. After that, they could send Veliz to the Brazilian club Bahia. Tottenham see him as a “problem” and is apparently willing to pay just to “fix the broken-down car,” as one source put it. That pretty much says it all.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DEBUT: ALVARO ARBELOA FACES MONACO TEST AMIDST SIX KEY DEFENSIVE ABSENCES
Alvaro Arbeloa makes his Champions League debut as Real Madrid hosts Monaco. Get the latest injury news and predicted 2026 lineups.
Alvaro Arbeloa is about to step into his first European match as a manager on Tuesday night, with Real Madrid hosting AS Monaco at 21:00 CEST. It’s the second-to-last game in the group, and things are tight. Real Madrid sits in seventh place right now—just three points off second, but also only three ahead of Monaco, who is down in 19th and fighting to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
Arbeloa has a headache when it comes to his squad list. Alvaro Carreras joins Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, and Brahim Diaz on the list of players missing through suspension. Brahim’s still on his way back from the African Cup of Nations. Monaco’s boss, Sebastien Pocognoli, has his own problems: Lamine Camara and Krepin Diatta are away at AFCON, and Takumi Minamino, Lukas Hradecky, Paul Pogba, Mohammed Salisu, and Christian Mawissa are all injured.
Looks like Arda Guler is set to start for Real Madrid. Both Diario AS and Marca say his spark off the bench against Levante earned him a spot in the midfield, likely taking Eduardo Camavinga’s place. Fran Garcia should fill in for Carreras. The only real question is about Gonzalo Garcia—Marca thinks Franco Mastantuono will take his spot, but AS says Gonzalo stays.
As for Monaco, expect Alexander Golovin and Folarin Balogun to lead the line, with Magnes Akliouche causing trouble on the right. Ansu Fati, on loan from Barcelona, is probably starting too.
Monaco really needs to turn things around. They’ve lost four in a row in Ligue 1, including a 3-1 defeat to Lorient last time out. Real Madrid have had their own drama after losing to Albacete last week, but they got within a point of Barcelona over the weekend. A win against Monaco could flip the mood in Madrid and give the Bernabeu something to cheer about.