Arsenal head into this weekend's London derby against Fulham at the top of the Premier League table - and Mikel Arteta and his side will be intent on staying there.
The Gunners have rebounded from missing out on a Champions League spot last term and made a seriously impressive start to the new domestic campaign, with new boys Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko playing a key role for the Londoners.
With less than one week remaining, it remains to be seen if Arsenal will conclude any more transfer business, but talk of a move for Wolves winger Pedro Neto refuses to die down. Ahead of a big weekend of top-flight action, Mirror Football rounds up the latest news from in and around the Emirates Stadium...
Arteta drops fresh transfer hint
Arteta has dropped the biggest hint yet that Arsenal have plans to replace Nicolas Pepe in the final week of the transfer window.
The Gunners club-record signing has joined Nice on a season-long loan after failing to live up to expectations in north London following his £72million switch from Lille back in 2019.
And Arteta hinted that there are plans to replace him in his press conference on Friday. The Spaniard teased: “If we can implement the plan that we have we will try to do it. In that plan that [Pepe leaving] was something that could happen, now it’s a reality. We’ve been preparing for the last two months and now we will see.”
Edu fixes dressing room issue
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The departure of Pepe has also solved a long-standing dressing room issue highlighted by the Gunners technical director Edu.
The Brazilian hinted in an interview with Sky Sports back in July that high-earning squad players who were not performing, such as Pepe, were "killing" the club and that they had no future at the Emirates.
Although there are plenty of other fringe players still at the club, Pepe is believed to be one of the Gunners top earners after arriving in a big-money deal three years ago - so offloading him for the season will be a big boost for Arsenal.
Gunners learn Europa League fate
Arsenal will come face to face with PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League this term after they were drawn alongside the Dutch giants in Group A.
The Gunners will also come up against Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich after they missed out on a Champions League spot to Tottenham last term.
Arteta's men know that they can bank an automatic spot in next year's Champions League if they can go on and win the tournament outright this year, although they are likely to face stiff competition from Manchester United, who are also in the competition.
