Arsenal trio can help bridge Liverpool gap with Mikel Arteta crisis period now over

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta can finally see the end of the tunnel in their defensive crisis as he sets about putting their Premier League title challenge back on track.

Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are reportedly set to recover from knee injuries which have kept them out for several weeks and months respectively.

Calafiori sustained a problem against Shakhtar Donetsk on October 22 and hasn’t been seen since. Tomiyasu, who has managed only six Premier League minutes this season, has been sidelined with a more serious injury.

But the full-backs are available for selection again to hand Arteta a massive boost following the international break, per the Daily Mail.

The Gunners have been left without Calafiori, Tomiyasu, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney at least once this season, with only William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes yet to miss a game.

White has now been ruled out until 2025 after undergoing minor knee surgery to correct an issue, but Arteta can at least welcome back some of the aforementioned names.

While the duo’s return to the squad may not excite every Arsenal fan, the past two and a half seasons show how crucial it is for Arsenal to have a stable and consistent backline when competing for the title.

In 2022-23, Saliba’s injury destabilised the north Londoners’ defence and they threw away a seemingly unassailable lead over Manchester City in the final weeks of the campaign. And last season, Arteta’s men boasted the best defensive record in the top flight with only 29 goals conceded – and they were one Son Heung-min chance away from dethroning the champions.

This year, they have not been able to fall back on that defensive reliability this term due to injuries and suspensions. In fact, Arteta has been forced to experiment with seven different backlines in their 11 games this season.

That is quite the contrast to a time when White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko’s names could be written in concrete on the teamsheet – such was the certainty they would play – only a year ago.

Timber’s situation is something of a question mark, but it appears that the Gunners’ medical staff are merely easing him back into action following his serious ACL injury. If Arteta doesn’t want to risk the Dutchman, he can now rely on Tomiyasu or Calafiori to fill in for White.

Catching Liverpool at the top will be difficult with a nine-point gap to eradicate. Things have gone swimmingly for Arne Slot so far at Anfield, taking 28 points from his 11 games.

But at some stage, it would be fair to expect Liverpool to endure a difficult period of their own as fixtures begin to pile up. Meanwhile, Arsenal must control their own destiny by ending their four-game run without a win.

Again, it’s normal to expect a drop-off when Martin Odegaard has been out for two months, Saliba and Declan Rice were suspended, while a certain tentativeness continues to surround Bukayo Saka’s fitness.

After a run of four consecutive away fixtures, Arsenal can look forward to playing in front of their own fans against Nottingham Forest on November 23.

By then, Calafiori, Tomiyasu and Timber should be fresh and ready to return to help their team haul themselves back into the title reckoning.