Liverpool are preparing to face Arsenal in an enormous Premier League game and some significant injury news has emerged for the Gunners.
Arne Slot’s side make the trip to the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, knowing that victory in north London will put them seven points clear of Mikel Arteta’s men.
The importance of the result could have such a big bearing on the Premier League title race come the end of the season, so Liverpool need to be in their most ruthless form possible.
The Reds will have to make do without a number of key men at Arsenal, however, with Alisson and Diogo Jota the most high-profile absentees.
The Gunners also have injury problems of their own, though, with captain Martin Odegaard a big miss currently, and recent signing Riccardo Calafiori also unavailable.
There have been doubts surrounding Bukayo Saka’s involvement, too, having missed the games against Brentford and Shakhtar Donetsk, with Arteta suggesting that the England international could again miss out.
It looks as though the Gunners boss may have been exaggerating, however, with Saka spotted with his teammates at their hotel on Saturday, hinting towards him being part of the matchday squad.
Our thoughts on Saka being fit to face Liverpool…
This comes as no great surprise, in truth, with Saka always feeling like he could be fit enough to feature on Sunday, considering Arteta never officially ruled him out.
From a Liverpool perspective, it would have been better to see him miss out, considering he is one of the Premier League’s most consistent attacking players.
That being said, it remains to be seen if Saka will be deemed fit enough to start, assuming he is named in the matchday squad, but there could be a risk element in playing him, given his lack of match fitness.
It is Liverpool’s job to focus on themselves, however, regardless of whether he plays or not, doing a job on a Gunner side who are also without centre-back William Saliba.
Arsenal aren’t firing on all cylinders, especially compared to the last couple of seasons, so the Reds should be viewing this as a great chance to at least walk away from the Emirates with a draw.
