Arsenal handed triple injury blow ahead of Liverpool clash

Mikel Arteta is set to be without some of his key players for tonight’s Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool at Anfield.

The Gunners have had a difficult start to 2022 losing to Manchester City and getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest and will have a slim squad to field against Liverpool.

Arsenal will be without Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe. Tomiyasu has been struggling with a calf injury while Emile Smith Rowe has a groin injury.

Odegaard’s concern isn’t clear yet, the Norwegian has been a key player for Arsenal in recent weeks. Granit Xhaka looks set to be available, however, after recovering from COVID.

This will be the first leg of the semifinal with the return leg to be played next Thursday at the Emirates stadium. Initially, the first leg was to be played at the Emirates however, the fixture was postponed upon Liverpool’s request.

It turned out that Liverpool’s COVID cases were “false positives” and now have a majority of their players available for the clash.

Arsenal players available for selection vs Liverpool:

Aaron Ramsdale, Bernd Leno, Ben White, Rob Holding, Pablo Mari, Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka, Charlie Patino, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Omari Hutchinson, Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah.