Arsenal: Who will play against Liverpool?

Forum 7 years ago

Arsenal: Who will play against Liverpool?

Gabriel's ankle injury means that Wenger could be forced to field an inexperienced centre-back pairing of Chambers and Holding

Arsenal capped off their pre-season schedule with a win over Manchester City in Sweden on Sunday evening but were left in a familiar position after seeing defender Gabriel Paulista hauled off with an injury as the match came to an end.
The Gunners' injury problems have been well documented over the years and the blow of losing Gabriel means that Arsenal's only fully fit centre-backs are Calum Chambers, 21, Rob Holding, 20, and Krystian Bielik, 19, for Sunday's Premier League opener against Liverpool.

Gabriel went down in pain in stoppage time of Arsenal's 3-2 win over Manchester City after appearing to roll on his ankle. He had a scan on Monday morning and is currently wearing a protective boot while the club's medical staff wait to find out the prognosis.

Laurent Koscielny is unlikely to be involved in the match having only resumed training on Monday following his Euro 2016 exertions, while Per Mertesacker remains sidelined for a minimum of five months after suffering a knee injury in training.

Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez will both be in the squad to face Jurgen Klopp's men at Emirates Stadium and it's expected that they will feature after getting game time in the final leg of Arsenal's pre-season tour in Scandinavia last weekend.

Arsene Wenger has already admitted the need for an experienced centre back and will work on a deal to bring Shkodran Mustafi to north London over the coming days, but if he fails to land his main target it's almost certain that Chambers and Holding will form an inexperienced all-English centre back partnership.

Likely starting XI against Liverpool:

What's your rating?
0
{{ratingsCount}} Votes


Related forums
EPL: Arteta reveals advantage Arsenal have over Liverpool, Man City in title race
Forum | 1 day ago

EPL: Arteta reveals advantage Arsenal have over Liverpool, Man City in title race

EPL: Arteta reacts to Cole Palmer possibly missing Arsenal vs Chelsea
Forum | 1 day ago

EPL: Arteta reacts to Cole Palmer possibly missing Arsenal vs Chelsea

EPL: ‘He was outstanding’ – Arteta names player that helped Arsenal beat Wolves
Forum | 3 days ago

EPL: ‘He was outstanding’ – Arteta names player that helped Arsenal beat Wolves

 EPL: Arsenal go top with 2-0 win at Wolves
Forum | 1 day ago

EPL: Arsenal go top with 2-0 win at Wolves