“If Arteta starts him on today, they will beat us with a wide margin, Most people thinks Palmer is the best player in Premier League but for me, he’s not…EPL best player is that particular Arsenal player but unfortunately Arteta doesn’t know his worth and as a result, he’s not using him”: Liverpool coach Arne Slot names ONE Arsenal’s player as the best in Premier League, even better than Cole Palmer
Arsenal face an almighty test of their Premier League title credentials this Sunday. Not only do last season’s runners-up welcome in-form Liverpool to north London, they do so without a handful of important first-teamers.
William Saliba is arguably the biggest absentee given his importance to Arsenal’s backline – the Frenchman is suspended after his red card at Bournemouth last weekend – but skipper Martin Odegaard is also unavailable. Mikel Arteta must deal with a full-back injury crisis, too.
Bukayo Saka has been key in replacing some of the ingenuity that Arsenal have lacked in Odegaard’s absence over the past month and a half, but the indefatigable winger is himself a major doubt for the weekend after missing the Gunners’ last two outings.
Here is the latest injury news regarding Arsenal’s ‘Starboy’.
The September international break left Odegaard sidelined and the October break forced Saka into the treatment room. The forward pulled his hamstring in England’s shock 2-1 defeat to Greece in the UEFA Nations League, lasting just 51 minutes before being replaced at Wembley.
Saka missed England’s subsequent game against Finland and returned to north London earlier than expected in the hope that he would be available for Arsenal’s clash with Bournemouth last weekend.
However, the usually durable Saka missed the 2-0 defeat at the Vitality Stadium and was also sidelined for Arsenal’s midweek victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
When will Bukayo Saka return from injury?
Saka is a significant doubt for Sunday’s visit from Liverpool, with left-back Andy Robertson certainly hopeful that the England international will miss out at the weekend. However, Arsenal boss Arteta has refused to rule Saka out of contention.
Speaking to the media before the game, the Spaniard stated: “He’s done a bit of training on the grass. How far we can get him before Sunday is another question. We will see.”
Arteta added: “We’re going to do our very best to somehow have them [Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Saka] available. It’s very, very uncertain.”
Saka has an incredible injury record given how often he’s on the receiving end of physical treatment from opposition defenders. There have been many occasions where the 23-year-old has hobbled off late in a match yet started the next game just a few days later.
Even if Saka does miss the weekend, Arteta’s comments suggest he won’t be sidelined for too much longer.
