Arsenal drop triple injury update as Mikel Arteta faces anxious wait for Liverpool

Arsenal players Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber did not take part in training on Friday ahead of Sunday afternoon's Premier League clash against title rivals Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

The trio's absence offers a hint that they may not feature against Arne Slot's team on Sunday afternoon. However, the Gunners will also train on Saturday, offering some hope that they may still feature.

Saka has not featured since before October's international break, having picked up an injury setback while playing for England. The winger has a thigh injury and is currently being assessed by Arsenal's medical team.

Calafiori, meanwhile, was forced off during Tuesday night's Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are all currently unavailable due to injury - and star defender William Saliba is suspended after being sent-off in last Saturday's defeat at Bournemouth.

Arsenal could go within just a single point of the league-leading Reds with a win. Mikel Arteta's team currently sit third in the table, with reigning champions Manchester City three points above them in second.

It's shaping up to be yet another high-octane title race this season. Arsenal have gone close for the last two years before missing out to City when it comes to silverware.

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Looking ahead to Sunday's huge game, Arteta was asked about how he plans to energise his tired team. "Well, we played two nights ago with players coming from internationals after flying from Brazil and many countries," he said after Tuesday night's game.

"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 score-line, 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 [to prepare for Liverpool].

"Believe me, come Sunday we'll be flying."

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