Arne Slot gives Liverpool injury update ahead of Arsenal as Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike undergo scans
Arsenal host Liverpool in North London on Thursday night as they look to keep their Premier League title charge on track
Arsenal are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League as London rivals Chelsea claimed a dramatic draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.
The Gunners beat Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday night at the Vitality Stadium to go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League. City took the lead against Chelsea but Enzo Fernandez bundled the ball into the hosts’ net in the 94th minute on Sunday to leave Mikel Arteta’s side with a six-point lead at the top.
Up next for Arteta and his men is a clash with Liverpool in North London. The Reds are unbeaten since late November and while they have gone nine matches without a loss, they have drawn their last two games.
In their most recent outing, they scored what looked like a late winner against Fulham at Craven Cottage but a stunning strike from Harrison Reed in the 97th minute saw the spoils shared.
Star striker Hugo Ekitike missed that game with a minor injury, and it is not clear if he will be available for the trip to Emirates this week. He did undergo a scan, with Slot hoping he was only suffered from delayed onset muscle soreness but that did not prove to be the case.
Wirtz also underwent a scan last week over a fitness concern and he did just have delayed onset muscle soreness, which allowed him to feature against Fulham with the German international scoring in the game.
Giving a fitness update after the draw with Fulham, Slot said: “Yes, [Hugo] travelled because he felt something during the training session, so he went for an MRI scan and we got the result when we were flying. We were hoping it was just a bit of DOMS, which he also had.
“Why? Because Alex [Isak] has been out and since Alex is out [Hugo] doesn't play 70 minutes or 60 minutes or sometimes gets a bit of rest. He has to play 80 or 90 minutes every single game for the first time in his life at Premier League level, for the first time in his life without a winter break, for the first time in his life at Champions League level. So not a surprise he then gets a bit tired and gets DOMS.
“We were hoping it was only DOMS and then we could have used him maybe as a sub, but unfortunately, we saw a little bit more and then you cannot take a risk. Florian had the same last week when we put him in an MRI scan and there was only DOMS, so he didn't have anything. But he is also experiencing this programme for the first time and if I don't have that many players, I would like the ones I do have available and playing as many minutes as possible, but realistically. That's what I tried to do today.”