Mikel Arteta issued a rallying call to his injury-ridden Arsenal squad as the Gunners boss warned Arne Slot’s side ahead of Sunday’s mouth-watering Premier League clash against Liverpool.
Arsenal face the agonising prospect of falling seven points behind the Reds if Liverpool take three points at the Emirates in a contest that could have a huge outcome on the title race.
Arsenal’s preparations have been hindered by an injury crisis that has struck the club in recent weeks with Arteta revealing after Tuesday’s Champions League victory that captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka remain sidelined.
There was further injury concern in their European win over Shakhtar Donetsk as defender Riccardo Calafiori limped off after twisting his knee and will now undergo further tests to determine the severity of the issue.
Meanwhile, star defender William Saliba will also miss the Liverpool match as he serves a one-game suspension having been sent off against Bournemouth last time out.
Mikel Arteta issued a rallying call to his injury-ridden Arsenal squad ahead of their weekend clash against Liverpool
Liverpool are top of the league and will go seven points clear of Arsenal if they win on Sunday
Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka (left) and Martin Odegaard (right) are both set to miss the match with injury
However, despite carrying a squad of wounded players, Arteta remains confident of his side’s title ambitions and issued a warning to Liverpool ahead of the weekend.
Analysing Arsenal’s midweek Champions League win, Arteta said: ‘We played two nights ago with players coming from internationals after flying from Brazil and many countries.
‘I was expecting a bit of a drop off. And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t get the distance in terms of the scoreline, I think we paid a bit for that.
‘Then we made life more difficult for us because we started give the ball away in not the right areas and then it was more open. That didn’t help.
‘But we have now four days. Believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying,’ said the Arsenal boss.
The Gunners will benefit from having an extra day to prepare for the encounter as Liverpool travel to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arteta warned that his Arsenal squad ‘will be flying’ against Liverpool at the Emirates
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has starred to take the club to the top of the league during his debut season
However, Liverpool will arrive at the Emirates with an almost fully-fit squad that has been the Premier League’s surprise package during Slot’s debut season after replacing Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool lost on their last trip to Arsenal in February but have an impressive record against the Gunners and previously knocked them out of the FA Cup at the Emirates in January.
Meanwhile, Arteta might attempt to motivate his players with another bizarre pre-match drill ahead of facing Liverpool after it was revealed he secretly hired a football freestyler to go undercover and prank his players before a match.
The Spaniard has developed a knack of developing weird and wacky motivation tactics and previously tried to prepare his players to face Liverpool by blaring ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ on speakers during a training session.
