Eberechi Eze will make his first-ever appearance for Arsenal when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Arsenal will aim to continue the perfect start to the 2025/26 Premier League season when they lock horns with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening. Mikel Arteta has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Bukayo Saka is the most notable absentee after picking up a hamstring injury last weekend against Leeds United. The English international has joined Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the treatment room, with the attacking duo recovering from knee injuries. However, there has been some positive news.
Ben White, Christian Norgaard, and Martin Odegaard have been recovering from minor issues, and the trio faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday’s game against Liverpool. During his pre-match press conference, Arteta responded to questions about the fitness of Saka, Havertz, White, Norgaard, and Odegaard.
The Arsenal manager said, “Bukayo is doing better, but he will be out for a few weeks, unfortunately. No surgery. It’s not as bad as the previous one. Very unfortunate to pick it up because it’s on the other side. It’s an action that requires full power from him. Then, he clashes with the opponent, he needs to change pace again, and he felt something. So he will be out for a couple of weeks.”
“We don’t know yet. He [Odegaard] hasn’t trained yet, and if he does, it will be tomorrow. He’s doing everything he can, we’re doing everything that we can to make him available, but we’ll have to wait and see tomorrow. That’s another two [White and Norgaard] that we don’t know yet. Again, tomorrow we have another day, let’s see how they evolve, and there’s a chance to keep them involved in the game.”
On Havertz, the Arsenal manager said, “I think it will be weeks, but I don’t know how many months. Very unfortunate, very sad for him. He did tremendously well to recover from the previous one; he’d never had an injury before, and suddenly this happens.”
“But this is our profession, our football, we need to live with that. We lost another big player for many, many weeks, but it [surgery] was the right thing to do. The doctors advised and I think he was very convinced at the end that it was the quickest and the best way to resolve that issue.”
Havertz’s continued absence means Viktor Gyokeres is an automatic pick to lead the line against Liverpool. However, the offensive unit will witness one change, as Eberechi Eze will make his first appearance for Arsenal, joining Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke in the final third. Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi will continue pairing up in the double pivot.
The rest of the team should remain unchanged, with Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Riccardo Calafiori forming the defensive quartet. Finally, David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks for the away side.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Gyokeres
