Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways in midweek when they take on Premier League champions Liverpool FC at the Emirates stadium on Wednesday. The North London club suffered a disappointing defeat against arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend as they lost 2-1.
Champions League football is already out of reach now, and to at least give themselves a shot at qualifying for Europa League, scoring an upset win over Liverpool here is extremely crucial. For the Arsenal starting XI prediction go here.
There are only three games left in the season and the Gunners currently sit in ninth place, two points behind Tottenham.
Ahead of this match, Arsenal issued an official update on the team news and the good news is that there are no new injuries to worry about. The major positive was the news that Pablo Mari, who had been side-lined with a long-term injury, has had a successful surgery and can thus start rehabilitating.
The centre back should return to full training by September.
As for other injuries, Bernd Leno could return to full training before the end of the season while Calum Chambers and Gabriel Martinelli are already ruled out for the season.
Mesut Ozil still remains a doubt for the match as the German is being assessed following back soreness.
Another significant absentee is striker Eddie Nketiah who is still suspended following a red card against Leicester City and will be serving the second of his three-match ban.
The Emirates club are currently nine points behind fourth-placed Leicester City, so their chances of making it to the Champions League are dead in the water, especially now that Manchester City’s ban has been lifted. The focus will be on qualifying for the Europa League but there is strong competition for those two slots as well.
Given the importance of the next three games, this will be the North London club’s biggest test, as they are facing a Liverpool team who are chasing the highest ever single season points total.
Arteta will be hopeful that his team will bounce back strongly after the North London Derby disappointment.