Rice, Calafiori and Madueke all injury doubts for Arsenal's trip to Liverpool after Fleetwood exit

Mikel Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Noni Madueke are injury doubts for Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Liverpool on Sunday, after all three missed the Carabao Cup penalty defeat to League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.

Arsenal were held 1-1 after 90 minutes at Fleetwood before losing on penalties, a result that compounded what is becoming a significant injury crisis at the club. Arteta acknowledged that his hand was forced on some selection decisions, explaining the absences in his post-match comments.

“Riccardo was out, Noni was out with an ankle and Declan Rice was finished with a problem the other day. That’s why I had to substitute him [against Everton],” the Arsenal manager said.

The triple blow deepens Arsenal’s mounting fitness concerns. Talismanic winger Bukayo Saka could be sidelined until Christmas after being forced off against Bayern Munich with a thigh injury, joining summer signing Christos Tzolis on the treatment table.

Madueke had been in encouraging form, scoring a late winner at Nottingham Forest earlier this month, and Arteta had begun deploying him across both flanks to cover for the absences elsewhere. His own setback now removes another option from an increasingly stretched squad.

Arsenal’s problems from the Fleetwood defeat do not end with injuries. Teenager Max Dowman received a red card for kicking out at a Fleetwood player and will serve a three-match suspension, ruling him out of the next three fixtures.

Arteta was candid about the scale of the setback. “I’m sad, I think we are all sad,” he said. “We have a massive responsibility to carry this badge in the best possible way. It had nothing to do with effort or application or determination to win it, but we lack other things to create a much bigger margin than today — with what we produce, they really should have been shown in the scoreline.”

A trip to Liverpool now looms as an immediate test of Arsenal’s ability to regroup, with Arteta facing a selection headache that will only grow clearer as the week progresses and the fitness of the three absentees is assessed.