Almost two years ago today, Norway international Omar Elabdellaoui went blind in a firework explosion.

11 surgeries and 13 months later, he returned to the pitch for Galatasaray. Kate catches up with him about his incredible journey since that New Year’s Eve in 2020 and how he is seeing football – literally – with new eyes.

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The inside story of Avatar 2 – and how it's revolutionised the cinema experience

Jules, Andy and Pete douse their flaming Christmas puddings with some goals, more misguided footballer tattoos, and Manchester United tears...

They chew over the best of the Boxing Day football, where Spurs picked up from exactly the same confusing place they left off and Darwin Núñez proves for some that he is the second coming of Andy Carroll. Plus, a Newcastle fan embraces the real spirit of Christmas: wrestling with a child for Joelinton’s shirt.

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The real stories behind the outrageous new blockbuster about the silent film era

Eddie Nketiah earned a new long-term contract at Arsenal at the end of last season after some very fine performances for the Gunners.

That didn’t stop the club from signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City in the summer and the Brazilian has been the club’s number-one striker so far.

However, he was injured at the World Cup and could be out for up to three months as Mikel Arteta’s side seeks to maintain their lead at the top of the league table.

His absence is a massive blow to the Gunners, but it hands Nketiah a huge opportunity to show he is worth keeping as an alternative to Jesus.

The Englishman has done well in some Europa League matches this season. Still, he did not inspire much confidence in Arsenal’s mid-season games, exemplified by missing a sitter against Juventus.

In their big mid-season friendly, Arsenal was beaten by Juventus as they prepared for the return to league football on boxing day.

The Gunners were one of the in-form sides in Europe before the World Cup break, and they also did well in the Dubai Super Cup despite losing Gabriel Jesus to injury at the World Cup.

Fans had high hopes they would also secure at least a draw against Juve, considering the Old Lady was missing key players.

They used most of the players in their B team in the fixture, yet we could not score a goal in the fixture and lost 2-0.

There are so many lessons to learn from that game, and we could dismiss it as just a friendly. However, one thing we must take from the game is that we are still a work in progress.

Arsenal went into the World Cup break at the top of the Premier League table, which is a massive improvement from finishing fifth last season.

They will want to continue their good run of form in the second half of the season and these players could be crucial to any success. 

Gabriel Martinelli

Martinelli did not play much football for Brazil at the World Cup, but the attacker did well against Cameroon. His first half of the season was superb, and he will be a crucial attacker for Arsenal in the second half of the season.

William Saliba

Gabby Agbonlahor believes Eddie Nketiah has to step up and justify his new contract and the huge salary that comes with it.

The striker was given a new deal in the summer worth around £100,000 a week after he showed improved form in the second half of the season.

However, Arsenal added Gabriel Jesus to their squad in the last transfer window, and Nketiah has been struggling to play regularly.

But the Brazilian suffered a serious injury at the World Cup and will likely be out for around three months, offering the young Englishman a chance to show he can lead the line for the Gunners.

Agbonlahor says he has to step up and justify why he is earning such a huge salary. He tells Football Insider:

The January transfer window offers clubs an opportunity to add new players to their squad and prepare them better for the second half of the season.

Arsenal will need strengthening to continue staying at the top of the EPL table, and these players will help their chances if any of them are signed,

Mykhailo Mudryk

Mudryk has shown he is an exciting yet productive talent who can make things happen regardless of the opponent.

He will be a great backup to Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli.

Since the awful atmosphere that pervaded the Emirates a few years ago, Mikel Arteta has done a great job in repairing the broken relationship between the Arsenal fans and the team, and the crowd sound like they are right behind the team from even before the game starts nowadays.

The Arsenal defender Rob Holding has been at the club for six years now and has seen more changes than most of the players (excepting Xhaka maybe!) and he has been very impressed with the home crowd’s incredible support.

Rob also thinks that the Gunners appearance on the All Or Nothing series helped to bridge the gap with the fans, and also thinks that this new relatonship has been a great help in turning the ground into Fortress Emirates. Holding told Arsenal.com: “There has been a massive connection with the supporters over the past year and a half.

“The Amazon documentary we did last year helped with that I’m sure. It gave us some good publicity, and there’s a lot of positivity and energy around the place. You can see that in our performances and results, especially at home……”

Rob was then asked how he thought the recent atmosphere compared with his previous five seasons… “When I first joined we had some great moments, big games, late wins or whatever. It’s been wild before. The difference this year is that we are hearing it from the kick-off.