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Arsenal could move 10 points above Liverpool in the Premier League title race if it beats Burnley this weekend, with Mikel Arteta offering an injury update ahead of the game.
Liverpool then plays Aston Villa later on Saturday, when it will hope to close the gap. Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba both picked up knocks in the Gunners' win over Crystal Palace, and the former is expected to miss out here. The French center-back, meanwhile, could be in contention, but Arteta was unable to confirm.
"No, I think we have the same ones [available]," Arteta, speaking on Friday, outlined in his pre-match press conference with the assembled media. "Martinelli is still out. Saliba, we have to wait and see."
On Martinelli, Arteta was asked for a more specific return date, but he was unable to provide one. "We don’t know yet, but I think this game is going to come too early for him," he said.
Arsenal will once again be missing captain Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, and Noni Madueke against Burnley. Striker Gabriel Jesus is a long-term absentee.
Arteta is hopeful of having at least some of those players on the treatment table back soon. Important fixtures coming up next month include Tottenham, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich in what could be a decisive period.
"Weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully," Arteta said on that group. "It is difficult to put a game on it; we have the [November] international break."
Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori were also taken off injured against Crystal Palace, and Bukayo Saka struggled to train in the build-up to that fixture due to illness.
All were involved in the matchday squad midweek against Brighton in the League Cup, however, and are therefore back available again.
After facing Burnley, Arsenal has Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday. It then travels to Sunderland in the final game before the international break, returning with the North London derby at the Emirates.
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As a result of lots of players being in good form, Arteta was also asked about the difficulty of keeping everyone happy.
"We have to be prepared in our job to give all the kind of news and messages sometimes," the Arsenal boss said. "And it is for the best for the team and maybe not for the best of the individual.
"But you never know because some decisions that at the time you think they are not good for you, they become the best decision for your career and I've experienced that myself. So, take them, make the most out of them and we'll see what happens next day."
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