Arsenal duo set to return for huge Liverpool clash

Arsenal duo set to return for huge Liverpool clash Arsenal Injury Update: Saka Concern Grows as Calafiori Faces Liverpool Race Arsenal keep winning, which is the good news. The less pleasant part is familiar, key players are missing, more are carrying problems, and Mikel Arteta is once again being asked to balance momentum with damage limitation. The 2-0 win over Everton kept Arsenal level with Manchester City at the top end of the Premier League table. It was comfortable enough, and Arteta would have taken that without hesitation after a demanding spell. Yet the conversation quickly shifted away from the result and back towards the treatment room. That is where Arsenal are right now. The team are collecting points, but every selection decision comes with a calculation, who can be protected, who can be pushed, and who simply has to play. Photo IMAGO Bukayo Saka injury remains biggest concern Start with the obvious one. Bukayo Saka is the issue that matters most, because Arsenal do not have another player who gives them what he gives them in terms of ball progression, end product and sheer reliability. When he went down against Bayern Munich, there was immediate concern. There was no challenge of note, no obvious impact, just a player signalling that something had gone wrong. Arteta later confirmed it was a quad issue, and the wording around it has done little to calm nerves. “We have to wait. It will be weeks,” Arteta said before Arsenal’s win over Everton. “I think in a week or ten days we’re going to have another scan because there’s so much fluid at the moment. “So the picture is not that clear to give you an exact amount of time. But it looks like it’s going to be weeks.” That tells you enough. Arsenal do not yet have certainty, and when a manager is talking about fluid obscuring the picture, nobody is putting a firm date on anything. The current expectation points towards a return in December, potentially for the home game against Manchester United on December 20. Until then, Arsenal will have to patch the right side together and hope others can absorb the creative burden. Riccardo Calafiori fitness could affect Liverpool trip Riccardo Calafiori is a different case, less dramatic, but still significant. His absence from the starting line-up against Everton raised eyebrows because he had started each of Arsenal’s previous seven Premier League matches. Given the recent workload, including a full 90 minutes in Munich, there was logic to leaving him out from the start. Then he came on, and the evening became awkward. Calafiori spent much of stoppage time stationed up front, while Noni Madueke dropped deeper, before heading straight down the tunnel after full-time. That was the clear sign that this was not tactical housekeeping. Arteta was direct enough afterwards. “Yeah I wasn’t that mad to change those two from their positions,” Arteta said. “It was because he had a slight issue, we don’t know what it is, it seems to be something very small, but he was cautious about it.” That sounds minor, and it may well be. Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup would likely have been a game to manage his minutes anyway. The problem is what comes next. Arsenal go to Liverpool on Sunday, and Calafiori has become important quickly. If he is unavailable, or even short of full sharpness, it changes the balance of the side. For now, Liverpool away on November 1 remains the working target. William Saliba recovery offers Arsenal some encouragement If Saka is the headline concern, William Saliba is the long-view one. He has not played for Arsenal this season because of a back injury aggravated while away with France at the World Cup finals this summer. Back issues are rarely straightforward, and Arsenal have been careful with him for good reason. There is, finally, some encouragement. Saliba has returned to individual work on the grass, which is a step forward, though not a guarantee of anything immediate. Arteta’s latest update was measured and sensible. “Next week, we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is at the moment,” Arteta said. “Every sign so far has been very, very positive. It will be great to have him.” That is as optimistic as a manager tends to get with an injury like this. Arsenal clearly want data before they accelerate his comeback. A December return still looks the most realistic outcome, and even then there will be caution around loading and rhythm. Saliba coming back well matters more than Saliba coming back quickly. Christos Tzolis and Piero Hincapie latest Elsewhere, the picture is a little more manageable. Christos Tzolis picked up a hamstring injury while away with Greece, in the 2-2 Nations League draw against the Netherlands. He tried to continue after treatment, which generally tells you what players think of their own importance and what medical staff think of that judgement. He was eventually withdrawn in the 18th minute. Arteta later said, “Tzolis has a muscle injury, and he’s going to be out for a few weeks. He’s not available yet.” The initial expectation was around three weeks, and that timeframe has now passed. That puts him in contention for Fleetwood and, if all goes well, the trip to Liverpool. Piero Hincapie, meanwhile, has already taken a step back into the matchday squad after an ankle problem. His return came earlier than expected, which gives Arteta at least one useful body as the schedule tightens again. So this is where Arsenal stand. Saka is the big one and there is no clean answer yet. Calafiori is a fresh concern at the wrong time. Saliba is progressing, but carefully. Tzolis is close, Hincapie is back involved, and Arteta will keep doing what he has done for weeks, winning where he can and managing risk everywhere else. Arsenal are still moving forward. The problem is that the injury list keeps trying to drag them back.