Arsenal vs. Liverpool: Fitness setback strikes both Clubs

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ahead of the Gunners’ clash against Liverpool on Sunday, now face a Thomas Partey conundrum as the Ghanaian has been confirmed to have suffered another setback on return to fitness.

Also in the Liverpool camp, the master of chaos himself, Darwin Nunez has been ruled a possible doubt against Arsenal, thus putting the clash at the Emirates in the weekend, a tie that leaves both sides a little short of options.

Speaking in his pre-match conference ahead of the battle royal that might have its influence on the premier league title race,

Arteta addressed the media on Friday, providing updates on the squad ahead of the highly anticipated fixture against Liverpool this weekend.

Despite the club’s earlier confirmation that Partey had returned to full training, the Ghanaian midfielder was conspicuously absent in Arsenal’s recent 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Regrettably, Arteta confirmed that Partey’s anticipated return to the squad has been hindered by an unforeseen setback.

The manager stated,

“With Thomas, unfortunately, we had a little setback a few days ago. He’s not going to be available in the squad.”

The exact nature and severity of the setback remain uncertain, with Arteta expressing uncertainty regarding the timeline for Partey’s return.

He added,

“We don’t know if it’s a few days or weeks. He felt something in a very similar area, and he wasn’t able to train in the last few days.”

This complicates things for Arsenal as fans have been waiting on the midfielder to return to the squad sooner than later after being out for months.

On Darwin Nunez being a doubt, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp addressed before the Arsenal game;

“X-Ray clear, nothing broken but we have to see if we can get his foot back into his boot!”

On the positive however, the Reds see the return of midfield maestro, Thiago Alcantara to fitness after being out from the Liverpool team for almost a year.