Arsenal vs Luton live updates: Premier League team news, line-ups ...

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Mikel Arteta says Jurrien Timber has “a good chance” of playing again for Arsenal this season. The Netherlands international, 22, has been sidelined since suffering an ACL injury 50 minutes into his Premier League debut for the club in August.

He was pictured training on the grass during Arsenal’s winter break camp in Dubai with Arteta hinting at game time with the Under-21s side in the coming weeks to get him fully up to speed.

“He’s doing very well. He’s back training,” Arteta said ahead of tonight’s visit of Luton Town. “He’s not far off, the thing is that last step, he hasn’t played any minutes.”

If defence wins you titles, then Arsenal must be in with a chance.

Arsenal held Manchester City to a goalless draw on Sunday to maintain their one-point advantage over the champions. It was the first time City have failed to score in a home league game since October 2021, ending a run of 47 consecutive games.

Two Premier League clean sheets against City in this season’s two league meetings is a source of pride for manager Mikel Arteta. “It’s extremely difficult to do that,” he said at his post-match press conference. “It shows you the commitment of every player, the discipline they showed and how they compete.”

Dive deeper below...

GO FURTHER

Arsenal shut down ‘the best in the world’. The world has changed.

The top three in the league, the triumvirate of title contenders, are all yet to play their 30th match.

Liverpool, after beating Brighton last time out while Manchester City and Arsenal 'dropped two points' in a 0-0 draw, are two points clear of Arsenal (who have 65 points) on 67 points, with City one point behind them on 64.

That means Arsenal could go top of the league tonight if they win, depending on City's result. They kick off at 8.15pm BST against fourth-placed Aston Villa, who beat them earlier this season.

The Athletic is running a discussion tab at the top of the page, clickable here. There, you can:

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Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka is "fine" and ready to feature for Arsenal against Luton Town this evening.

The England international was withdrawn late on in the 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Sunday after being a fitness doubt in the run up to the game at the Etihad Stadium.

"He’s fine," Arteta said. "We have a short, light session today (Tuesday) to prepare the game and we will see if he’s in the best condition to start or not."

Saka was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli against City with the Brazil star now fit again after a foot issue, and asked if he is ready to play 90 minutes, Arteta added: “He is because he was available to play against a really tough opponent three days ago. He certainly is today.”

Arsenal knew Declan Rice was a player with more upside than most when recruiting him last year. On top of this, Rice having the attributes to fulfil multiple midfield roles was always seen as a major benefit.

Their initial plans were to use him deeper in midfield, but the possibility of pushing him further forward was always there.

Rice embracing that challenge added gears to Arsenal’s attack at a crucial point in the season and has helped put them in a position to be competitive at its climax.

GO FURTHER

Declan Rice, a defensive No 6 fast becoming an attacking No 8

Arsenal’s bench was the strongest it has been for a while against Man City. There was no need for any under-21s presence as Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Martinelli and Oleksandr Zinchenko all continued their returns from injury.

An important consideration for Mikel Arteta in the coming weeks, however, will be exactly how he reintegrates his squad players. The Spaniard puts a lot of stock in on-field relationships and how they are effected by surrounding players.

Luton Town’s visit to the Emirates is the first of four successive weeks with midweek games for Arsenal. This is where Arteta will need to prove he can fully utilise his squad.

As well as this live blog, The Athletic is running a general football news live blog right here.

Follow to stay updated with all the latest from the Premier League, WSL, MLS, across Europe and beyond.

It's being run by the superb Colin Millar and the inimitable Ben Burrows.

Losing after leading 1-0 at half-time hurts. Losing after inadvertently scoring an own goal will sting. Losing to a goal in the 86th minute is going to bite. Losing for the 18th time this season will never feel good.

The manner of Luton Town’s 2-1 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur — their sixth defeat in eight league games — had manager Rob Edwards starting his press conference by telling everyone how “sick” he felt after Son Heung-min’s late winning goal.

Losing for any team is never easy. So how do Luton’s manager, players and fans deal with it? Find out more below.

GO FURTHER

What keeps Luton Town going after their 18th defeat of the season?

Whereas Luton were once again unlucky losers. Though how often can you say that and use bad luck as a reason behind your defeats?

They took the lead away at Tottenham on Saturday via Tahith Chong's third-minute goal after a nice move.

But Issa Kabore's own goal levelled things up and Tottenham captain Son Heung-min scored an 86th-minute sickener for the visitors.

We'll check out what it means for the league table very shortly.

Arsenal's most recent result, on Sunday March 31, was a 0-0 draw against champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Avoiding a loss was the most important thing - and they did, restricting City to just one shot on target.

Centre halves Gabriel and William Saliba did superbly to shackle hotshot striker Erling Haaland.

Luton have scored loads of goals this season though, so the work can't stop tonight...

There were five Premier League games last night, with half of the midweek matchweek schedule now completed. The results were:

What if the story of the Premier League title race could be told in two passes? Not two particular passes. Any pair of passes. Every pair, in fact. That’s impossible to do just by watching the games.

Over time, though, the passes acquire a shape. Players start to vibe with each other. Rapports develop. Patterns proliferate like inside jokes. Lines of attack become as familiar as well-worn arguments. Tactics are a conversation.

Whoever wins this very tight Premier League race — and at this point, frankly, your bet is as good as anyone’s — it will go down as a contest not just of wills but of contrasting styles of play.

But let’s start with how Arsenal became boring — and scary-good. Check it out below!

GO FURTHER

The signature passing moves that explain why this Premier League title race is so close

Grade: A

Luton have far exceeded everyone’s expectations. Coming into this season after their miracle promotion to the Premier League under Rob Edwards, many feared the worst. For Luton to have 22 points after 29 games is remarkable. And not only that, but they have been playing vibrant and fluid football.

They have been one of the best teams to watch, not just for their joyous energy but also for the drama.

What’s left to play for?

Survival. Luton have nine games to stay exactly where they are right now: one point above the relegation zone.

The power of Kenilworth Road is quite something. If Luton are to remain in the Premier League, that place and those fans will be integral to it.

Grade: A

The only reason it is not A+ is that Arsenal were dumped out of both cup competitions early but, in truth, only two competitions really mattered this season and they are in contention for both.

They have also found a way to get the best out of their two expensive summer purchases, which is never easy.

What’s left to play for?

The small matter of recording the best season in the club’s history. Twenty years on from the Invincibles, Arsenal need to show their steel down the home run to prove that this team can get over the line.

Come through the tie against Bayern Munich and they could be on course to end two long trophy droughts.

GO FURTHER

Every Premier League club’s season graded early – Arsenal’s title push to Liverpool’s Klopp send-off

The two sides met earlier this season at Kenilworth Road and, boy, was it a thriller.

Seven goals, a see-sawing encounter that ended with Declan Rice heading in the winner in the 97th minute in front of a euphoric away end.

Gabriel Martinelli scored, Gabriel Osho equalised. Gabriel Jesus scored, Elijah Adebayo equalised.

Ross Barkley put Luton ahead, Kai Havertz equalised. Before Rice's dramatic last-gasp stoppage-time stunner.

Here's hoping for similar drama today!

Arteta — who turned 42 on March 26— is still a comparative novice. He is still learning - and how he has adapted the Arsenal left-back role to suit Jakub Kiwior in recent weeks is indicative of a manager improving before our eyes.

At the start of February, a year after joining the club, Kiwior was still a fringe player. He was even being discussed as a potential candidate for a summer departure. But Arteta's tactical recalibration, and Kiwior's strong form since, has been incredibly fruitful for the team — and the player.

Yes, Arsenal’s rise has been propelled in large part by their increased expenditure. But we are also watching a manager growing into maturity. Their improvement correlates with Arteta’s own.

Read more here.

GO FURTHER

Mikel Arteta’s careful nurturing of Jakub Kiwior is the sign of a manager who is still improving

There is only one Premier League meeting ever between the sides (more on that game later).

But overall, Arsenal have faced Luton 39 times.

History on the side of the hosts.