Arsenal go to Anfield on Sunday with some good news and some bad news. Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis all trained on Friday and could face Liverpool. Bukayo Saka and William Saliba will not be there.
Three players back in training
Rice came off late in the 2-0 win over Everton last weekend while holding his hamstring, and he missed the Carabao Cup game in midweek. On Friday Mikel Arteta said the midfielder is close to a return, along with Calafiori and Tzolis.
“They all trained today. They will train tomorrow and if all is okay, they will be available,” Arteta told reporters.
Noni Madueke is still a doubt with an ankle problem. “We don’t know yet, we have a training session tomorrow, let’s see if he can complete it,” the Arsenal manager said.
Saka and Saliba out
The news on Saka is worse. The England winger hurt his quad in the game against Bayern Munich, and Arteta said he needed another scan to see how the injury is healing. Reports say he could be out for six to eight weeks. Arteta added that it “looks likely” Saka will miss England’s games in November.
Saliba has not played this season because of a back problem. He is not expected to return before late November.
Arsenal will also be without teenager Max Dowman. He was sent off in the Carabao Cup defeat on penalties to League Two side Fleetwood Town, and the club’s appeal was turned down. He now serves a three-match domestic ban, which starts at Anfield.
Liverpool’s side
Andoni Iraola also has problems. Hugo Ekitike is out until late December with an Achilles injury, and Jeremie Frimpong has a new muscle injury. Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Muñoz are not certain to play.
“I think they have a chance. They have a chance. But I don’t know for sure if they will be involved or not,” Iraola said about the last two.
Iraola and Arteta know each other well, and the Liverpool coach had good results against Arsenal in his time at Bournemouth. He played that down. “This doesn’t mean a lot, honestly,” he said, adding that it is still October and his side must take one game at a time.
Arsenal are second in the table, level on 21 points with leaders Manchester City. Liverpool are fourth on 15. The game starts at 4.30pm UK time on Sunday 1 November.
Our take
Arsenal can live without one or two players, but losing Saka and Saliba at the same time hurts. Saka gives them goals and ideas on the right, and Saliba is the calm head at the back. If Rice is fit, though, Arsenal still have the player who controls their midfield, and that may matter more than anything at Anfield.
Liverpool have their own gaps up front with Ekitike out, so this could be a tight game decided by small details.
Who wins at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool or Arsenal? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Declan Rice by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Bukayo Saka by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Andoni Iraola by Timmy96 (CC0), Anfield by FYI2023 (CC0).
