Arsenal faces yet another injury setback before their clash with Liverpool – “Bit of a worry.”
With William Saliba suspended and Martin Odegaard sidelined, Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka might also miss Arsenal’s upcoming match against Liverpool.
Liverpool, currently four points ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League, will visit the Emirates on Sunday for a crucial game that could offer insight into the teams’ future campaigns.
For the first time in a few years, the Gunners are dealing with several injury problems, further compounded by three red cards already this season.
Their summer signing, Calafiori, is the latest to face an issue.
The Italian defender limped off during the second half of their 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk after appearing to twist his right knee while slipping on the pitch.
Arteta commented: “He had to come off because he felt something. I don’t know the extent of it, so in that sense, not great news.”
Bukayo Saka injury update Saka is also a doubt for Sunday’s Premier League match after suffering a hamstring injury during international duty.
The winger missed Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth and their Champions League win, and is “unlikely” to play against Liverpool.
Arteta told Prime Video: “He wasn’t able to do the session in the way that we wanted. He wasn’t still feeling good so it wasn’t good news.”
After the match, when asked again about Saka’s condition, Arteta responded: “He wasn’t able to train yet so [playing against Liverpool] is unlikely.”
Who else is out? It is confirmed that Saliba will miss the match due to a one-match suspension he received after being sent off for pulling down Bournemouth’s Evanilson during a goal-scoring opportunity.
Odegaard remains out with an ankle injury he sustained in early September.
Defender Jurrien Timber is also questionable for the weekend, but Arteta mentioned on Monday: “It is going to be close. We have to see how he deals with training with the whole group, but he is pretty close.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are also unavailable due to a knee injury and a serious hamstring issue, respectively.
As a result, Arsenal might have to start with a back four consisting of Ben White, Gabriel, Jakub Kiwior, and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
