Before Sunday’s Premier League matchup against Liverpool, Arsenal players Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and Bukayo Saka were not seen in training.
The Gunners will be hoping to upset the current leaders in a game that would bolster their spirits after their shocking loss at Bournemouth last weekend.
But, with William Saliba serving a one-game ban, Mikel Arteta might have to rearrange his lineup once more and make at least one defensive alteration.
The Italy international is recovering from a knee injury, but Riccardo Calafiori might have been a viable alternative to the France international in central defence.
It appears that the summer signing from Bologna will not be able to recuperate in time to play the Reds, despite reports from Italy on Thursday that the injury was not severe.
Saka’s fitness, meanwhile, remains a mystery given he has missed the last two games following a muscle injury he suffered when playing for England in their loss to Greece two weeks ago.
Arteta will be anxious for Saka to be ready because skipper Martin Odegaard is still out, and Gunners icon David Seaman thinks the winger will return soon after visiting his former team’s training facility last week.
“If I’m being completely honest, I’m a little bit nervy because we’re not going to be at our strongest, depending on Saka,” Seaman remarked while discussing Arsenal’s chances against Liverpool in an interview with Betway.
However, I thought it was a good sign when I noticed Bukayo wearing boots while I was at Arsenal last Thursday instructing the young goalies.
Nothing like trainers or anything. A positive sign was that he was leaving to undertake some one-on-one rehabilitation. I hope it isn’t too bad.
Due to the versatile defender’s absence since the international break, Jurrien Timber is also still doubtful.
During Oleksandr Zinchenko’s return, Jakub Kiwior may play as a left-back or centre-half against Liverpool.
However, Arteta chose to substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly for Ben White at halftime against Shakhtar in midweek, keeping in mind that the Arsenal right-back was already on a yellow card.