Mikel Arteta has handed Arsenal a triple injury boost before Sunday’s trip to Anfield, with Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis all back in training on Friday.
All three missed Tuesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round exit at League Two Fleetwood Town, who won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Arteta gave the update at his pre-match press conference, and it was the one Gooners wanted to hear: “They all trained today, they will train tomorrow and if everything is OK they will be available.”
Kick-off is at 4.30pm UK time on Sunday 1 November, and the opposition could hardly be sharper. Liverpool have won five straight games in all competitions under Andoni Iraola, including Wednesday’s shootout win over Chelsea in the same competition that sank Arsenal.
Arsenal injury news: where Rice, Calafiori and Tzolis stand
Rice and Calafiori both picked up issues in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton, which put them on the list in our Arsenal injury news before Liverpool earlier this week. Friday’s session is the first real sign that both will make it.
Tzolis is the longer story. The Greece international has missed Arsenal’s last six matches in all competitions with a thigh injury picked up on international duty, and Eberechi Eze has been filling in on the left flank ever since.
The wording still matters. Arteta said “if everything is OK”, so Saturday’s session has to go to plan before any of the three can be counted on.
Arsenal injury news on Madueke: Saturday decides it
The one player Arteta could not clear was Noni Madueke, who was ruled out before the trip to Fleetwood with an ankle injury. “We don’t know yet, we have a training session tomorrow and see if he can complete the full session,” the Arsenal boss said.
So Madueke is still in contention, but only if he gets through all of Saturday’s work. That is a big “if” given what is going on around him.
Who plays on the right if Madueke misses out?
Bukayo Saka is out with a quad injury suffered against Bayern Munich. He is expected to miss at least six weeks, and possibly eight, so he is not expected back before December. Max Dowman is banned. Lose Madueke as well, and Arteta is down to his fourth choice on that side.
The obvious answer is Tzolis, even straight after a lay-off. He is mainly a left-sided attacker, but he has played 26 club games at right wing, with six goals and five assists from there.
The other route is Kai Havertz, who has played 53 times as a right winger, though not since his Chelsea days in 2022-23.
Dowman ban leaves Arteta ‘very disappointed’
Dowman, 16, was sent off at Fleetwood for kicking out at Harrison Neal after a crunching tackle, and an independent regulatory commission threw out Arsenal’s appeal against Max Dowman’s red card. The three-match ban covers Liverpool, Hull City at home on 7 November and the trip to Newcastle United on 21 November.
Arteta did not hide how he felt: “Very disappointed. Especially with the reckless tackle that he received and his reaction is minimal in relation to the action. We have put every argument on the table, not only the action.”
He added: “You have to read the context of the player, the age, and what happened previously. It could have been really bad, and we are lucky he hasn’t had a broken foot.”
William Saliba also stays out with his long-term back problem. He has not played this season.
What the Arsenal injury news means for the Anfield table
Arsenal are second on 21 points, level with leaders Manchester City and behind only on goal difference, and they have conceded just five goals in eight league games. Liverpool are fourth on 15 points, six behind the Gunners.
Iraola has fitness questions of his own. Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz both have a chance of playing, but Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni will not be back in time. Arsenal, meanwhile, have not won a league game at Anfield since 2012.
Verdict: this Arsenal injury news is bigger than it looks
After Fleetwood, this is the update Arteta needed. We expect Rice to come straight back into the midfield at Anfield, because this is exactly the sort of afternoon that he is built for, and no Gooner wants to go there without him.
Calafiori back in the picture also reopens the left-back question. We went with Myles Lewis-Skelly there in our Arsenal predicted lineup vs Liverpool, when Calafiori looked a doubt, and Arteta now has a genuine choice to make.
The right wing is the worry. If Madueke fails on Saturday, we would rather see Tzolis out there than Havertz, but neither option is what Arsenal would pick with a full squad. Saturday’s session will tell us plenty.
