Mikel Arteta has warned that Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori could all miss Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
It’s been a tough week for the Gunners. A 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday followed by a close 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League midweek has highlighted their growing injury crisis and the impact of wasteful red cards.
In just four days they’ll face league-leaders Liverpool, but may be forced to battle on without key members of the squad.
William Saliba has already been ruled out in defence after picking up a red card against Bournemouth. Jurrien Timber could also be missed in Arteta’s backline, having not played since the start of the month due to a muscle injury.
Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal’s newest defensive signing, was forced to leave the pitch early during Tuesday’s Champions League showing after picking up a suspected knee injury.
“He had to come off because he felt something,” Arteta explained of Calafiori’s injury. “I don’t know the extent of it so in that sense not great news.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are also unable to feature in defence due to long-term injury issues, leaving just Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Gabriel and Jakub Kiwior as Arteta’s senior options in defence.
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka is unlikely to feature after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury sustained while on international duty with England.
“I don’t know, he wasn’t able to train yet, so that’s unlikely,” Arteta told Amazon Prime of Saka’s chances of facing Liverpool.
And long-term absentee Martin Odegaard is also expected to be sidelined while still in recovery from the injury he picked up during September’s international break with Norway.
Arteta explained to TV2: “I do not think [Odegaard] will be involved.”
