Arsenal news: Gunners duo defended in Harry Kane row as Mikel Arteta suffers transfer blow

Arsenal head into the November international break looking to regroup after a bruising start to the season.

Having started the campaign , Mikel Arteta's men sit fourth in the , nine points adrift of leaders . A have dented their ambitions and two more names have been added to the list.

and have been forced due to injury issues. The duo were among nine players for withdrawing from international duty.

But they have now been defended by club legend Paul Merson amid the mounting criticism. Here, rounds up all the latest news.

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Gunners duo defended

Paul Merson has defended Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice after they were among those criticised by England captain for pulling out of international duty. Kane issued a scolding rebuke of those who have withdrawn from this week's games on Wednesday night.

"I can understand that but at the same time Rice wasn't fit, Saka came off with about 10, 15 minutes to go in probably a must-win game for Arsenal [against ] at the time," he told Sky Sports.

"I'll go with the players on this one, but again, this is a big football match. We need to win this football match to get back to the big table with the big nations because otherwise we're going to play these countries again and that's when you get withdrawals at the same time."

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who should be Arsenal's top target in the January transfer window? .

Arteta sent title warning

has been warned Arsenal could be about to take a step back in the title race. The Gunners finished second last season, but has insisted that means nothing in the current campaign.

“[Arsenal] reminds me of what happened when I was at Liverpool. You’d have a season where you come second, have a really good points total, and everyone automatically thinks the next thing is to do that [finish first]," he told the Stick to Football podcast.

"One season under Gérard Houllier we lost out to Arsenal for the league, and the next season we finished fourth or fifth. It [winning the league] doesn’t naturally happen just because Arsenal finished second. Sometimes, it can go the other way.”

Newcastle's Isak stance

are confident of keeping hold of Alexander Isak, with the striker being heavily linked with a move to Arsenal. The Gunners are keen to sign a new striker as their title challenge falters.

Isak is a leading target, having long been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. But according to ChronicleLive, Newcastle chiefs are 'relaxed' over Isak's future and are not sweating on any imminent exit.

The long-term plan remains to hand him a new deal and build a team around the striker. The club see Isak as the future number 9 on Tyneside and they believe he has a genuine chance of beating Alan Shearer's club record of 206 goals if he stays.

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