"Not great news" - Mikel Arteta sweating on fitness of Arsenal star after he comes off injured ahead of Liverpool clash

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has offered a worrying injury update on Riccardo Calafiori ahead of their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday, October 27. The Italy international was forced to come off against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Gunners' mid-week Champions League fixture.

Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night (October 22), courtesy of goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk's own goal in the first half.

Calafiori was subbed off in the 72nd minute after an apparent knee injury, with 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly replacing the Italian.

Arteta told reporters after the win over Shakhtar(via The Guardian):

“He had to come off because he felt something. I don’t know the extent of it, so in that sense not great news."

Arteta also provided an update on Bukayo Saka, who has missed Arsenal's last two fixtures across competitions after picking up a hamstring injury during the international break. He acknowledged that the England forward is unlikely to feature against Liverpool.

When asked about Saka's potential return this weekend, the Spaniard said:

“He wasn’t able to train yet so that’s unlikely.”

Ben White, meanwhile, was replaced at half-time by Mikel Merino against Shakhtar, causing speculation over the England international's fitness. However, Arteta claimed White was not injured as his substitution was merely a precaution to prevent a fourth red card for Arsenal this season.

"It was my decision to take him out. He had a yellow card and we’ve played enough with 10 men in recent periods. [Shakhtar] had a lot of density on that side, a lot of players on that side, so I didn’t want to take any chances there,” the Spaniard said.

Saka and Calafiori are part of the Gunners' injury list which also has Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney.

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"Believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying” - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sends confident message ahead of Liverpool clash

After the Shakhtar win, Arteta acknowledged that he expected his players to be a bit weary given their hectic schedule involving the recent international break and the Bournemouth game last weekend.

However, with four days of rest available for his squad ahead of their Liverpool clash, Arteta seems confident of Arsenal putting on a strong display at the Emirates on Sunday.

“I was expecting a bit of a drop off. And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t get the distance in terms of the scoreline, I think we paid a bit for that. But we have now four days. Believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying,” he told reporters via The Guardian.

Arsenal are third in the Premier League table with 17 points from eight games, four points off leaders Liverpool. The Gunners are three points behind second-placed Manchester City.