The Winter fixture pile-up is always a difficult period for Premier League teams. The relentless games and lack of recovery period are sometimes cruel to the players. Injuries become inevitable, and it is truly a frustrating phase. It gets even more frustrating when teams go up against heavily difficult teams. Liverpool are set to face league leaders Arsenal in one such difficult fixture. In what is seen as one of the most anticipated games this season, it is expected to be extremely competitive. However, Liverpool are hit with a setback that most teams get hit by during this Winter fixture pile-up: injuries. In the crucial fixture against Arsenal, Liverpool are set to miss multiple players. Most notably, they will be missing their best player this season, Hugo Ekitike.
Hugo Ekitike and the four
It really is extremely unfortunate, the fact that Liverpool are going to be missing multiple key players in such an important game. But that just shows how riveting continuous fixtures can be for players nowadays. The five players Liverpool are most likely going to miss are Hugo Ekitike, Mo Salah, Wataru Endo, Alexander Isak, and Giovanni Leoni. Young center-back Leoni is unfortunately out for the whole season because of an ACL surgery. Alexander Isak is obviously out because of the injury he suffered during Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Tottenham. It was a nasty challenge by Micky van de Ven that caught Isak’s planted leg when he scored for Liverpool. Wataru Endo also remains unfit because of an ankle issue that has kept him out for over a month. Mo Salah is not available because of his national commitments in the ongoing AFCON tournament.
Moving on, the most worrying news for Liverpool fans would be Hugo Ekitike potentially missing out the game. Hugo Ekitike has by far been Liverpool’s best player this season. He was signed in the summer transfer window along with multiple big-money signings. Despite Liverpool having a disappointing season, Ekitike has managed to perform. Furthermore, Isak’s injury provided Ekitike with ample opportunity and game time to stamp his name on the Liverpool team sheet permanently. However, Hugo Ekitike missed the game against Fulham last week because of a hamstring issue. His availability remains a question mark for the Arsenal game.
Hugo Ekitike is the only summer signing to achieve 10 Premier League goal involvements so far this season ⚡️
🥇 Hugo Ekitike – 10
🥈 Joao Pedro – 9
🥉 Rayan Cherki – 9 pic.twitter.com/U4tRsghuqn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 29, 2025
Arne Slot on Ekitike
As if to provide much-needed hope to the Liverpool fans, Arne Slot has provided positive updates on Ekitike’s possible availability. “It’s not a big surprise he gets a bit of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). We were hoping it would be DOMS and we could have used him as a sub but, unfortunately, we saw a bit more and couldn’t take a risk,” Arne Slot said.
Slot has explained why Ekitike was not used as a substitute in the draw against Liverpool. He claims it would’ve been a “risk” to use him. So Ekitike is not unfit. He is simply being rested until he is fully ready for a game. That should answer a few desperate questions Liverpool fans would have on their mind.
Conclusion
Liverpool are not necessarily having the best of seasons. They’ve had a massive slump from last season, in which they won the league authoritatively. However, things are improving, and Liverpool are gradually looking better with every game. One of the most important contributors to Liverpool’s improved football has been Hugo Ekitike. So it is a given that he is extremely important for Liverpool to compete toe to toe with league leaders Arsenal. Furthermore, Liverpool are also without their other striker option, Alexander Isak. So both of them missing out will be a very difficult situation for the Reds.
As featured on Walkon.com