Arsenal Face Double Blow as Wirtz and Ekitike Suffer Identical Injuries Before Crucial Showdown

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has disclosed that Hugo Ekitiké and Florian Wirtz are both dealing with muscle problems as they navigate their inaugural experience of English football's demanding holiday fixture list, though there's optimism that both players could be available for Thursday's crucial encounter with Arsenal.

Slot was compelled to exclude Ekitiké from his matchday squad entirely for Sunday's away fixture at Fulham. The French striker had simply accumulated too many appearances in rapid succession after being left as Liverpool's sole senior striker following Alexander Isak's injury.

Ekitiké traveled with the Liverpool contingent that journeyed to London over the weekend but required rest once his medical examination results were revealed. "He experienced discomfort during the MRI procedure and we received the findings while in transit," Slot disclosed during his post-game media briefing.

"We were anticipating it might be some DOMS [delayed onset muscle soreness], which he had been experiencing as well."

"It's hardly shocking that he's experiencing some DOMS," Slot continued. "We were hoping it would just be DOMS and we could have utilized him from the bench, but regrettably, we detected something more concerning and couldn't afford to take chances."

The Liverpool manager expressed confidence that Ekitiké would recover sufficiently to participate this week, informing Sky Sports "hopefully [he'll be] available for the Arsenal match."

Wirtz featured in the starting lineup for the 2–2 stalemate with Fulham, netting his second strike in three appearances, despite fitness concerns prior to the game. As Slot elaborated: "Florian experienced similar issues last week when we conducted an MRI scan and it was merely DOMS. He had no actual injury but he's also experiencing this schedule for the first time.

"When I don't have many players at my disposal, I prefer to have the available ones play as many minutes as realistically possible. That's what I attempted to achieve today."

Liverpool Injuries for Arsenal Clash

Slot has been vocal about Liverpool's injury concerns, though the statistics don't entirely support his grievances.

Isak's unavailability represents the most notable absence, yet his inability to justify his £125 million ($169.2 million) transfer fee—until the moment that ironically resulted in his leg fracture—means it's not as devastating as it might have been.

The primary concern regarding Isak's injury is the pressure it places on Ekitiké. The same logic applies to Giovanni Leoni. The young center-back was unlikely to start against Arsenal at the Emirates, but his ACL injury in September has prevented Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté from getting adequate rest. Both defenders will probably anchor Liverpool's defense in north London on Thursday having already featured in all 20 Premier League matches this campaign.

Questions remain about Joe Gomez's fitness while Wataru Endo continues to be unavailable with an ankle injury.

Egypt's advancement to the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage has also deprived Liverpool of Mohamed Salah.