Mikel Arteta Casts Doubt Over Saka, Calafiori, and Timber’s Availability for Arsenal’s Clash with Liverpool
Arsenal’s injury crisis continues to plague the team as Mikel Arteta has expressed his concerns over the availability of Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber for the crunch match against Liverpool. The trio are described as “very uncertain” to play, with their fitness levels unsure just 48 hours before the critical encounter.
Saka has been out of action since sustaining a hamstring injury on international duty with England, while Timber has been absent for three games with a muscular problem. The platform received a further blow when Calafiori suffered a knee injury in Arsenal’s Champions League win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The U-turn has added to Arteta’s woes, with captain Martin Odegaard already ruled out with an ankle problem and William Saliba suspended for the visit of Liverpool. The emotional toll of these setbacks has been underlined by the team’s surprise 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth last weekend, which has now left them trailing Liverpool by four points.
The Anfield club, under the guidance of Arne Slot, has been unstoppable, enjoying an impressive start to their tenure, having won 11 of their first 12 matches. A defeat for Arteta’s men would see them fall seven points behind the Reds, possibly casting doubt over their title aspirations.
Arteta, however, remains defiant, emphasizing that his squad’s focus remains solely on winning. “I never think about: ‘What if we lose it?’,” he stressed. “Everything that we do is to win. In my preparation, I don’t spend one second thinking, ‘if we lose it.’ It’s about ‘if we win it’, how convinced we are that we are going to win it and how we are going to feel afterwards.”
Arteta’s emphasis on positivity and determination will be put to the test as he weighs the fitness prospects of his injured players. “Saka’s done a bit of training on the grass,” he revealed. “How far we can get him before Sunday is another question. We have another day, which is a good thing.” Calafiori, too, needs more test results to determine his availability, while Timber is gradually making progress, although his return may come too late to make an impact on Sunday.
