Arsenal get Liverpool boost days before showdown with massive sudden absentee

Arsenal are set to host Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium come Thursday, January 8, and Arne Slot may be forced to make the trip to the capital without one of his most valuable players

Liverpool could be without Hugo Ekitike for their trip to the Emirates Stadium next week, in what could come as a major boost for Arsenal.

The Frenchman has been a revelation at Anfield since making a £79million move from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, bagging eight Premier League goals from 17 appearances under Arne Slot despite battling Alexander Isak for his place in the starting XI.

However, if recent reports are anything to go off, then Mikel Arteta may not have to worry about the Reds' talisman come Thursday, January 8.

The 23-year-old was omitted from Liverpool's squad to face Fulham on Sunday afternoon ahead of kick-off, with the club's official site explaining: "Hugo Ekitike misses out due to a minor fitness issue."

Elsewhere, David Lynch took to X to write: "Arne Slot says Hugo Ekitike picked up a slight hamstring injury because of his recent workload. Liverpool hopeful he will be back to face Arsenal."

With Isak side-lined for a prolonged period as a result of a leg fracture requiring surgery in December, Ekitike missing out with his own respective injury, and Mohamed Salah on AFCON duties with Egypt, Liverpool have opted to utilise Cody Gakpo through the middle against Fulham.

He will be flanked by Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai, with Alexis Mac Allister in the pocket. While Gakpo has racked up four goals and three assists this season as one of Liverpool's best players, playing as a centre-forward is far from a familiar role for the Dutchman, given his position of choice is on the left-hand side of the pitch.

Should Ekitike's injury also prevent him from taking part in Liverpool's clash with Arsenal on Thursday, it will certainly be welcomed by Gunners fans worldwide.

Arteta's side currently top the Premier League table with 15 wins, three draws and just two losses to show for their efforts - one of those coming in the form of a 1-0 shutout by Liverpool in August.

Six points clear of Aston Villa at the time of writing, the Gunners will hope to expand that gap when they meet a resurgent Liverpool on home soil.

It comes as the North London side showed grit and determination to see out a 3-2 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Evanilson opened the scoring at the Vitality Stadium just 10 minutes into the match, before Gabriel responded almost immediately.

Declan Rice then pulled a brace out of the bag in the second-half, with Eli Junior Kroupi's strike in the 76th minute coming as a consolation prize, with Arsenal making the trip back to the capital with all three points.

Speaking about his team's performance after the full-time whistle, Arteta told a press conference: "I really love today, the next step of the team in terms of individual personality and presence. I think what Gabriel has done after making a big mistake to concede the goal, the way he reacted to that, the way he played afterwards, the way he transmitted energy after that, it was remarkable.

"And Declan, another one. Every hour for him was important to be available today. We didn't know for how long, so in the manner that he competed, played and on top of that scored two goals, I think it was outstanding, and a really big message for the team."