Mikel Arteta is facing something of a crisis ahead of his Arsenal side hosting Liverpool on Sunday.
The Reds will make the journey to north London for their biggest test yet under Arne Slot at the weekend. It’s a chance for Liverpool to lay down a serious marker in this season’s title race, with a victory putting them seven points clear of the Gunners.
Slot has some injury worries heading into the game, with Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Alisson Becker, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott all looking unlikely to feature, and the Liverpool boss will be hoping no more issues emerge in the Champions League against RB Leipzig. He’ll probably be glad not to be in Arteta’s shoes at the moment though.
The Arsenal boss faces being without some of his most important players on Sunday – we already know his captain Martin Odegaard will be out through injury, while William Saliba is suspended following his red card at Bournemouth.
It’s now looking increasingly likely that Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber won’t be involved either, having sat out training on Monday before missing Tuesday’s clash with Shakhtar Donetsk. What’s more, despite picking up a 1-0 win over the Ukrainian side, things only got worse on the injury front for Arsenal.
Riccardo Calafiori was forced off during the second half with what looked to be a knee injury, having jarred it while stretching to make a tackle. Having received treatment on the pitch, the Italian made his way straight down the tunnel with a member of the Gunners’ medical staff after being substituted, which certainly doesn’t look to be a good sign for Arteta.
“He felt something. He could not continue playing. So, [it is a] bit of a worry,” Arteta said on Calafiori’s injury. “I don’t know the extent [yet]. But it’s not great news.”
With Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney also out injured, Arteta looks to be facing something of a crisis in defense. 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly had to be called upon against Shakhtar, which perhaps shows how much of a bind the Gunners find themselves in at the moment.
You would expect Jakub Kiwior to come into the reckoning against Liverpool, although it’s a question of where he’ll be positioned. He could play alongside Gabriel at center-back, or replace Calafiori at left-back.
The latter of those options would perhaps lead to Ben White deputizing for Saliba at the heart of the defense, with Thomas Partey having to cover at right-back. That doesn’t seem to be the ideal option for the Gunners, so Kiwior at center-back with Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back perhaps looks a better bet – Mohamed Salah will surely be licking his lips at that prospect.
Jorginho may therefore return in midfield in order to give the Gunners a bit more protection. Meanwhile, with Saka looking likely to miss out, Leandro Trossard may well be set for another chance, despite missing his penalty against Shakhtar.
Possible Arsenal line-up vs Liverpool: Raya, White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Rice, Jorginho, Martinelli, Trossard, Havertz, Jesus.
