The TRUTH about Arsenal's injuries Mikel Arteta REFUSES to admit ahead of Liverpool CLASH

This season is destined to be littered with injuries problems for all of Europe's elite clubs.

As a result of an extended Champions League tournament format, teams are now playing more games than they ever have before, with matches coming twice a week from much earlier on in the season.

As such, players are out with different injuries, some of which are long-term, and so when teams come up against fellow title contenders, they may well be missing some important assets.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE - Mohammed Kudus demands agents begin Liverpool talks

The lead-up to Liverpool's clash against Arsenal

Having missed out on the Premier League title in the past two years, and having started this season in tumultuous fashion - receiving three red cards - Arsenal are feeling the pressure going into this game.

Their players aren't firing on all cylinders quite yet, dropping points in three of their first eight domestic games, and speculation has arisen that the Gunners may be out of the title race should they lose on Sunday against Liverpool.

In addition, Arsenal have been impacted by injuries this season, after two fortunate campaigns where luck was on their side regarding fitness issues. Around five of Arsenal's key starters are currently set to be sidelined, but a few have shown positive signs in training this week.

Meanwhile, Liverpool under new boss Arne Slot have been almost flawless in their endeavours across all competitions so far this season. Winning 11 of their first 12 games, conceding only five goals, and they have not been without their injury issues either.

Alexis Mac Allister has been sidelined on numerous occasions, as has Alisson Becker, and while Curtis Jones has successfully moved past his spell out of the team with an injury, Harvey Elliott has hardly spent a minute on the field yet.

And yet Liverpool enter the clash at the Emirates - a difficult place to go - looking like the favourites against Mikel Arteta's side that he has managed for five years now - with the focus very much going on Arsenal's injury hindrances.

Arsenal should get over it

Arsenal are set to be missing Ricardo Calafiori, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba (red card suspension), Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber for Liverpool's visit, although the latter two absentees are players which Arteta may rush back into the team given the significance of the fixture.

And if that were to happen, then Arsenal would have three recognised absentees - the same as Liverpool.

And in fact, Liverpool's injuries may actually be the more significant losses between the two teams - missing Alisson, Harvey Elliott and Diogo Jota - the club's best goalkeeper, the best striker and a back-up attacking midfielder to Dominik Szoboszlai.

Speaking on his podcast last week in relation to Chelsea's team, Gary Neville said: "The two most difficult positions on the football pitch are centre forward and goalkeeper. They're the two most influential positions also on the football pitch."

As such, Liverpool find themselves significantly undermanned in those areas, and yet not a word is spoken about the Reds' inability to take all three points tomorrow.

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold confirms things HAVE changed under Arne Slot

The difference in mentality between the two teams

Throughout two title challenges, 2022-23 and 2023-24, Arsenal came up short of Manchester City, despite having relatively few injuries. Now hoping to get across the line in their third attempt, things aren't quite as straightforward this time around.

Missing integral players can no doubt make things difficult, but the best teams make use of the indifferent circumstances and use the assets they have to succeed anyway.

In last season's Liverpool clash against Manchester City at Anfield, Liverpool were missing their starting goalkeeper, their starting right-back, their ideal centre-back partner for Virgil Van Dijk and many more, accounting for nine injuries in the first-team squad - and yet they still drew the game 1-1, whilst creating 2.70xg throughout the match.

The game resulted in dropped points, yet Liverpool fans could not have been more proud of the efforts of the team, just as they were when the Reds won the Carabao Cup two weeks earlier - again, significantly undermanned.

Arsenal may not have every single player available to them tomorrow, but neither will Liverpool. Both teams will give everything for the win, but I'd keep a certain eye on the 'excuses' if the Reds come away victorious in the end.