Mikel Arteta expects Gabriel Jesus to offer a lot to Arsenal as the new-look Gunners hope to hit the ground running with an early statement of intent in the new Premier League season.
Arsenal had been in dire need of attacking reinforcements after allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave mid-way through last season and then letting Alexandre Lacazette's contract expire.
Brazil international Jesus was quickly identified as a primary target and Arsenal sealed his £45million signing in early July, allowing him to link up with Arteta once again having worked together at Manchester City.
Some expressed doubts over Jesus being the right sort of player to fill the void given he had rarely been seen as dependable enough at City to be their first-choice striker – he spent most of last season playing on the right wing.
But he has looked extremely sharp in pre-season, scoring seven goals in five games, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Sevilla last weekend.
While pre-season form may not count for a lot, Arsenal fans' expectations have understandably increased – not that Arteta is worried.
"When you bring top players, they're coming from top clubs and they've been extremely successful over the years, they're going to expect that [high expectations]," Arteta told reporters ahead of Friday's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace.
"The role Gabby has here is going to be very different to the role he had in his previous club, and need some time and adaptation.
"We're all surprised with how quickly he's done it [adapted], but we have to share that responsibility.
"He's an enormous talent and a player with a mentality that's so contagious and is going to give us a lot."
Jesus' arrival and early form have increased positivity around the club, and Arteta is seemingly setting his sights high.
"It's great that people are excited but there's a lot of excitement across the Premier League because a lot of clubs have done a lot of business, getting stronger and stronger, and the competition is really big. We're focusing on what we want to do, and we want to be at the top of that table," he added.
Another major change over pre-season was the appointment of Martin Odegaard as the club's new captain.
Lacazette had been captain until his departure, with the Frenchman taking the armband when Aubameyang was stripped of the role last year.
The Arsenal captaincy has been contentious in recent seasons, with Aubameyang not the first to seemingly struggle with the responsibility, but Arteta has a good feeling with Odegaard.
"This season we had the opportunity to do it in a way I believe could work, picking a player, Martin, who's been with us 18 months, who in my opinion represents values of the club in the perfect way," Arteta said.
"He's well respected by everyone in the team, he's admired by the staff, has experience even if he's 23 because [he is captain] for the national team [Norway], and then he's got that drive and passion for the game that he promotes every single day and in the way he plays.
"I'm very happy to have someone like him and he's onboard, enjoying the responsibility. He'll need support but it's a huge thing for him as well."
Arteta also delivered some positive injury news on the eve of the season's start. While Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe have been struggling with injuries in recent weeks, as many of three of them could travel to Selhurst Park.
However, Arteta would not reveal which is set to miss out.
"Good question," he said. "You'll find out tomorrow [Friday]."
Pochettino says Chelsea in 'most challenging period' ahead of Spurs reunion
Mauricio Pochettino says facing his former club Tottenham will always be "emotional", but his full focus is on guiding Chelsea through a testing period ahead of Thursday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino enjoyed a successful five-year stint with Spurs between 2014 and 2019, leading them to a Champions League final and to three straight top-three Premier League finishes.
He has found the going more difficult since taking over a Chelsea side still going through a transitional period under the Todd Boehly regime, with the big-spending Blues sitting ninth in the Premier League table.
Chelsea did beat Tottenham 4-1 in a memorable return fixture in November, meaning Pochettino could become the first coach to complete a Premier League double over Spurs having previously managed them in the competition.
"It will be emotional coming up against people who I worked with for a long period. I can't hide my emotion for the club," Pochettino told reporters on Wednesday.
"But across 90 minutes we want to win and Tottenham are going to come here to try and win."
Chelsea are five points adrift of the top seven with a game in hand, and Pochettino believes the club are taking the first steps on a path similar to that followed by his Spurs team.
"Tottenham was amazing because the challenge was to create a team that could compete with top sides," he added.
"Now at Chelsea, we are in the process of building an exciting project that needs time and this is maybe the most challenging period."
Tottenham are in desperate need of points if they are to reel in Aston Villa and secure a top-four finish, having suffered back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United (0-4) and Arsenal (2-3).
Despite their recent slide, Ange Postecoglou is in no doubt that his team have made big strides this term, saying: "What I see is us playing football, measuring ourselves against the best.
"My players have got real belief in what we are doing. That's all I need to see."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer, whose tally of 20 Premier League goals this term has only been bettered by Erling Haaland (21), has scored hat-tricks in each of his last two home games, netting three goals against Manchester United and four versus Everton.
The only player to ever score three or more goals in three straight home Premier League matches is Haaland, who did so against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and United last season.
Tottenham – Guglielmo Vicario
Vicario failed to command his area from corners as Arsenal scored twice from such situations in last week's North London derby, and it's an area in which the Italian needs to improve.
Only United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) have allowed their opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from set-piece situations than Tottenham's 14.3 in the Premier League this season, though Chelsea's tally of 83 shots from dead-balls is a league-low number.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Chelsea have a great record against their London rivals, recording 34 Premier League wins over Spurs. Only United have beaten them more often in the competition, with 39 victories.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have only lost one of the last 33 league meetings between the sides, going down 3-1 in April 2018 when Pochettino was in the Tottenham dugout.
Tottenham are looking to avoid suffering three straight Premier League defeats for the second time this season, having also done so in November – a run which began with their 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Chelsea.
Postecoglou's men could think themselves unfortunate on that occasion, though, missing several good chances to get back into the game despite being reduced to nine men by red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie.
One thing is for certain – goals should be expected. Chelsea have already conceded 59 Premier League goals this term, their most in a single campaign in the competition, while Spurs have shipped 52 and failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea – 39.9%
Tottenham – 32.6%
Draw 27.5%
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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