Arteta issues injury updates on Arsenal duo ahead of Liverpool trip

The Gunners boss gave the latest updates on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Partey ahead of the trip to Liverpool.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed he isn’t sure if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Partey are available for the trip to Liverpool.

The Gunners return to action from the international break on Saturday with a visit to Anfield. They hope to extend their 10-match unbeaten run and claim a first Premier League win at Liverpool since September 2012.

Preparations for the clash, however, have been hindered by the uncertainty of Aubameyang and Partey.

Aubameyang’s early return not pre-planned

The Arsenal skipper sparked injury fears by returning early from international duty with Gabon. Despite reports suggesting it was pre-planned, Arteta has claimed that wasn’t the case.

No, it wasn’t pre-planned,” said the Spaniard during a pre-match conference on Friday.

“We have to assess him and see how he is and make a decision. We have a lot of players who have been through some different games, issues, little injuries, so today we have to test everybody and see how we are to play tomorrow.”

He added: “Let’s see how everybody is. We have to see them today before assessing them and making a judgment on how everybody is.”

🗣 "We have to assess him and see how he is."

Mikel Arteta remains coy on whether Aubameyang will be fit to face Liverpool after leaving international duty early pic.twitter.com/vNs1qVsUSh

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 19, 2021

Partey is also a doubt for Liverpool trip

The former Atletico Madrid midfielder missed Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Watford earlier this month and both of Ghana’s World Cup qualifiers during the international break because of a groin injury.

Partey has spent the last two weeks recovering in London, although it’s still unclear when he can return.

“Same again, he could not play for the national team, he really tried to do that because they had a massive game and he really pushed for that one, but he wasn’t close enough to do that,” Arteta said about Partey.

“Again, it’s something we have to assess today because he hasn’t done enough [preparation work].”

🗣 "Again, he's someone we have to assess because until today he hasn't done enough."

Mikel Arteta confirms that Arsenal could be without Thomas Partey this weekend against Liverpool pic.twitter.com/JFUrXfKmNn

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 19, 2021