Gary Neville thinks Sunday’s clash against Liverpool is “the best time” for Arsenal to win and show their Premier League title credentials.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is without William Saliba through suspension and Martin Odegaard due to an ankle injury, while Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are all doubtful.
Saka trained on Friday but it is unclear if he will be fit enough to feature at the Emirates.
The winger limped off during England’s 1-0 defeat to Greece earlier this month and has not played since.
Liverpool have their own injury worries, with first-choice goalkeeper Alisson and Diogo Jota both unavailable this weekend.
While that is not ideal, the pre-match focus has been all about the unavailability of several key players for Arsenal.
Arteta has Benjamin White and Gabriel Magalhaes fit and ready but it is anyone’s guess who will join them in defence.
MORE ON ARSENAL INJURIES FROM F365
👉 Injuries only an excuse now it’s Arsenal as ‘bitter’ Wenger put in his place
👉 Ranking the Emirates showdown injuries by significance: all-Arsenal top three makes Liverpool favourites
👉 Premier League ‘Big Eight’ ranked by injury woes; Rodri ACL puts Man City above Newcastle, Spurs
Calafiori and Timber have both played left-back this season and White is capable of slotting in at centre-back if needed.
Jakub Kiwior came off the bench to replace Raheem Sterling following Saliba’s red card at Bournemouth but had a difficult time in right-centre-back, with his underhit backpass to David Raya ultimately leading to the Spanish goalkeeper conceding a penalty for a foul on Evanilson.
It was a day to forget for the Gunners and while they bounced back with a midweek victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, their performance was far from convincing.
Their potential absences is actually a reason why Sunday’s title clash against Liverpool is more of a must-win game, according to Manchester United legend Neville.
Neville argues that Arsenal can prove a point by beating Arne Slot’s side without several key names, while noting that it would show they have the right mentality to become Premier League champions.
“They can’t let the noise get into their heads,” Neville said before Nottingham Forest’s victory at Leicester City. “They have to really think about going out there on Sunday and winning
“Can Arsenal afford to see Liverpool seven points clear at 6:30 on Sunday evening? They just can’t.
“That’s not because they can’t get that back over the season, but we’re talking about a team that are trying to make that final step to win the league, and I think if you’ve got three or four players missing this would be the best time for them to go win on Sunday, and the best time to go and shock everybody.
“It would be not a surprise, Arsenal winning but because of the players that are out, there is something building that Liverpool are favourites.
“Go and shock us, go and do something, go and play and basically get within one point of Liverpool, and all of a sudden things change again. That to me is where I think the game is for Arsenal.”
👉 READ NEXT: Big Weekend: Arsenal v Liverpool, Tottenham, McNeil, Howe, El Clasico
Source link
[redirect url=’https://fastpowers.com/’ sec=’3′]