Arsenal will head into their heavyweight Premier League meeting with Liverpool carrying a familiar injury concern at the back.
It will be a tough game for the Gunners. If they can manage to gain three points, it will be a huge confidence booster for them in the Premier League title race.
Now, before the game, Mikel Arteta sat down for a pre-match press conference where he provided injury updates on Ricardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz, and Cristhian Mosquera.
The Gunners’ boss has confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori will not be available for Thursday night’s clash at the Emirates.
The defender has not featured since the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace before Christmas and has now missed three consecutive matches.
Cristhian Mosquera is also set to miss the Liverpool game. The centre-back picked up an ankle injury against Brentford at the start of December and has not returned to full training.
When asked directly whether either player would be available to face Liverpool, Arteta was blunt in his response.
There was, however, a note of optimism from the Arsenal boss when pressed on timelines. Arteta explained.
“I think pretty soon. They have to go through the last stage of the rehab. Hopefully very soon they’ll be available for selection.”
The situation is more encouraging for Kai Havertz. The German was absent from the squad against Bournemouth at the weekend.
But Arteta stressed that the decision was precautionary rather than injury-related. He said:
“We are monitoring. He’s been out for a long time. He’s very close. He trained this morning again.”
Mikel Arteta added that the club are confident the forward will soon be ready to return at full capacity. He said:
“Hopefully we’re going to have him available and the best version of Kai very soon.”
The Gunners are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table. They are six points ahead of both Manchester City and Aston Villa.
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