Mikel Arteta drops double Arsenal injury bombshell as seven players could now miss Liverpool - 'not good news'

But Saka faces a race against time to be fit, having sustained a hamstring injury while on England duty. Ahead of the Shakhtar game, Gunners boss Arteta said: “He wasn’t able to do the session in the way we wanted. He still isn’t feeling good. It wasn’t good news. At the moment, I am not very helpful. Let’s see. We still have a few days.”

And after the encounter, Arteta confessed it’s unlikely that Saka will be back to face Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. He said: “He wasn't able to train yet, so that's unlikely.”

Arsenal will already be without key defender William Saliba, who was sent off in last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Bournemouth and must serve a one-match ban. Martin Odegaard has been absent for more than a month with ankle ligament damage while Jurrien Timber has missed the Gunners’ previous two games. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are also presently on the treatment table.

To compound Arteta’s frustrations, Riccardo Calafiori was forced off in the second half against Shakhtar with a suspected knee injury. The Gunners chief said: “With Riccy, he had to come off because he felt something. I don’t know the extent of it but it’s not good news.”