Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta appears to have been handed a major double injury boost ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are already set to be working without a couple of integral cogs for the visit of Arne Slot's side, including captain Martin Odegaard and William Saliba, who serves a one-game ban after his sending-off at Bournemouth.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney will also watch on from the sidelines, while Riccardo Calafiori is expected to spend a few weeks out of action with the knee injury he sustained against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Calafiori was one of three Arsenal injury doubts not seen in training on Friday, the other two being Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber, who have been recovering from hamstring and muscular problems respectively.
Nevertheless, Arteta - always tight-lipped over team news - refused to rule any of Calafiori, Saka and Timber out of Sunday's match in his pre-game press conference, and it appears that he will have the latter two at his disposal.
Saka, Timber join Arsenal squad at team hotel
BREAKING: SAKA AND TIMBER WITH THE SQUAD pic.twitter.com/sRjMaRQt2Y
— Sam C (@SamC_reports) October 26, 2024
Even though Arsenal are playing at home, Arteta's men always stay in a team hotel the night before a game, and both Saka and Timber were present with the squad as they arrived on Saturday evening.
The duo's presence does not necessarily mean that they will be fit to start the match, but there is seemingly a good chance that they will both be part of the matchday squad in a significant boost for Arteta.
No player in the current Premier League season has set up more goals than Saka, who has scored three of his own while providing seven assists in 10 games for Arsenal across all competitions this season.
Meanwhile, Timber set out to enjoy a breakthrough 2024-25 season after his first year in North London was hampered by an ACL injury, and he shone on both sides of the backline before hurting himself against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League earlier this month.
Victory for Arsenal on Sunday would take them to within one point of Liverpool, who have failed to win any of the last four Premier League meetings between the two clubs, losing at the Emirates in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
What could Arsenal's starting XI look like against Liverpool?
© Imago
Gooners have been wracking their brains over how Arteta could set his team up for Sunday's blockbuster, and much will depend on the fitness of Timber, who could start in either full-back role or as Saliba's deputy in the centre.
Should Timber be passed fit, the Dutchman and Ben White are likely to form the right-hand side of the backline, with Gabriel Magalhaes and one of Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly linking up on the left.
However, if Arteta decides that it is not worth risking Timber from the off, a White-Kiwior-Gabriel-Zinchenko rearguard is not out of the question, but Thomas Partey could also act as an emergency right-back - the Ghanaian did so against Southampton three weekends ago.
Partey playing in defence would open up a spot in midfield for Mikel Merino to slot into, but the Spaniard could still come into a physically intimidating engine room with Partey and Declan Rice if Arteta finds an alternative solution at the back.
Saka is an undisputed starter on the right when fully fit, but ex-Liverpool starlet Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus will both battle to fill in for the Englishman if need be.
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