Arteta forced to rush Tzolis back for Liverpool clash as Arsenal injury crisis deepens

Mikel Arteta conceded he was forced into starting Christos Tzolis ahead of schedule as Arsenal faced Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with the Greek winger’s return from a hamstring injury doing little to mask the scale of the club’s attacking problems.

Tzolis had missed six games after picking up the hamstring problem on international duty last month, leaving Arteta short of options on the left wing. That situation worsened significantly when Bukayo Saka was injured against Bayern Munich — ruling him out for up to eight weeks — and Max Dowman was sent off in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Fleetwood, earning a three-match suspension.

“We had some other issues after Tuesday,” Arteta told reporters. “We need to be smart how we manage minutes today. The conditions and the context forced me to make some decisions.”

The admission underlined the difficulty of Arsenal’s position: Tzolis was available, but not necessarily ready, and Arteta had little choice but to turn to him regardless.

For Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai was named among the substitutes after returning from a thigh injury that had kept him out of four of the previous five matches. Manager Andoni Iraola acknowledged that he had moved too quickly to start the Hungarian midfielder two weeks earlier at Brentford, where Szoboszlai was forced off before half-time with a recurrence of the problem.

“He was desperate to start,” Iraola said. “After the Brentford game we probably went too early. We have been a bit more cautious and he will have to go through the process today — he probably plays in the second half.”

The injury updates on both sides added a significant subplot to an already high-stakes Premier League encounter, with Arsenal’s depth in attacking areas now stretched to a degree that could shape their season in the weeks ahead.