Arsenal could face a boost for the Liverpool game, as one of the Reds’ key players could miss the game due to injury.
The Gunners are heading into the game with a six point lead at the top of the Premier League table. They are hoping to extend their lead over rivals Man City on Thursday night when they welcome last year’s champions Liverpool to the Emirates.
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Mikel Arteta’s side won’t underestimate the Reds, as Liverpool are one of just two teams to beat Arsenal this season (The other being Aston Villa).
Heading into the game, Liverpool have been in solid form as of late, winning four of their last six games under Arne Slot. However, one of their best players could miss the Arsenal clash on Thursday night, which could provide a major boost to Arteta’s side.
Hugo Ekitike ‘has not trained’ ahead of Arsenal game
Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has been excellent since moving from Frankfurt in the summer, he quickly settled in at Anfield, which is more than can be said for a lot of Slot’s summer signings.
Ekitike has scored seven goals in 18 Premier League matches for the Reds this season, and he has been the pivotal point of Slot’s attacking unit.
The Frenchman however could miss Thursday’s match, as Slot confirmed this week that Ekitike is yet to train, as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury. Slot said during his Wednesday press conference: “He has not trained with us until now and let’s see if he can today [Wednesday].
“I’ve said, I think, two or three days ago when we played Fulham that he is not going to be out for long but because games come so fast he is in between maybe training with the team or it would take him one or two days extra.”
It is not yet clear whether Ekitike will be fit to feature, but even if he is, he may not be as much of a threat as he would have been at full fitness, which is a huge boost for Arsenal.
Who will the Gunners be without?
In terms of Arsenal injuries, they have three players ruled out of Thursday’s game at the Emirates, the first of which is defender Riccardo Calafiori, who continues to deal with the knock that he picked up against Aston Villa.
Centre-back Cristhian Mosquera will also miss the game, as he is recovering from an ankle injury, which turned out to be worse than initially feared. He likely won’t return until mid-January.
Finally, Max Dowman has also been ruled out, and will be out of action for at least another month as he suffered an Achilles injury in December.
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