Arsenal guaranteed to be without seven players for Liverpool as Martin Odegaard call 'confirmed'

Martin Odegaard faces a late fitness test ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Liverpool (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta has a number of injury issues going into Arsenal's match with Liverpool on Sunday and that will likely impact the matchday squad named to take on the Reds.

Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were forced off against Leeds United last weekend , while Kai Havertz "underwent a successful minor surgical procedure" on his knee this week after picking up an injury in the opening day win over Manchester United . Arteta provided an update on all three players on Friday and the game against Arne Slot's side definitely comes too soon for Saka and Havertz.

"Bukayo is doing better, but he will be out for a few weeks, unfortunately," the Spaniard said. "No surgery, it's not as bad as the previous one. Very unfortunate to pick it up because it’s on the other side. It's an action that requires full power from him. Then, he clashed with the opponent; he needed to change pace again, and he felt something. So he will be out for a couple of weeks."

On Havertz, Arteta's answer was a little more cloudy. "I think it will be weeks, but I don't know how many months," he said. "Very unfortunate, very sad for him. He did tremendously well to recover from the previous one; he’d never had an injury before, and suddenly this happens. But this is our profession, our football, we need to live with that.

"We lost another big player for many, many weeks, but it [surgery] was the right thing to do. The doctors advised and I think he was very convinced at the end that it was the quickest and the best way to resolve that issue."

There is some hope that Odegaard could play a part at Anfield, though, with the midfielder "doing everything he can" to be fit. "We don't know yet. He hasn't trained yet, and if he does, it will be tomorrow. He's doing everything he can, we're doing everything that we can to make him available, but we'll have to wait and see tomorrow," Arteta added.

Ben White and Christian Norgaard face late fitness tests, with both missing the 5-0 victory over Leeds last week. Arteta said: "That's another two that we don't know yet. Again, tomorrow we have another day, let's see how they evolve, and there’s a chance to keep them involved in the game."

Gabriel Jesus is Arsenal's long term absentee as he continues his recovery from ACL surgery. The Brazilian did return to the grass this week, however, and start individual training outside as he makes gradual progress in his road to recovery.

So, when looking at the official Arsenal website, the Gunners have 22 senior players available for selection for the game vs Liverpool. As per Premier League rules, a club is allowed to name a squad of 20 players for a Premier League match.

Jakub Kiwior will likely not be named in the squad as he closes in on a move to Porto, while Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Reiss Nelson are all fit but are expected to leave the club before the summer window closes at 7pm on Monday. The same can be said for Oleksandr Zinchenko, but it's possible the Ukraine international is named in the squad if all of Odegaard, Norgaard, and White fail late fitness tests.

Elsewhere, Max Dowman is classed as an Arsenal Academy player on the Gunners official website but is expected to be included in the squad once again. The 15-year-old made his debut for the club against Leeds and impressed in his 26-minute cameo. Marli Salmon is another who could be drafted in to make up the numbers, with the young centre-back training with the first team group quite a bit over the past few months.

Possible Arsenal squad for Liverpool: Raya, Kepa; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Salmon, Zinchenko; Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Eze, Nwaneri; Martinelli, Madueke, Gyokeres, Trossard, Dowman

Senior players unavailable for Liverpool: Jesus (knee injury), Saka (hamstring injury), Havertz (knee injury), Odegaard (shoulder injury - late fitness test), Norgaard (muscle injury - late fitness test), White (muscle injury - late fitness test), Kiwior (close to finalising move to Porto)