Chris Sutton says Arsenal have just suffered a ‘massive’ injury blow ahead of Liverpool clash

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Arsenal returned to winning ways after their disappointing 2-0 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth a 1-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

Dmytro Riznyk’s first-half own goal made all the difference in what was an uneventful game of football at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners secured all three points.

Mikel Arteta and Co will now look ahead to their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday, with the Reds currently four points above them at the top of the table.

And Chris Sutton feels Arsenal suffered an injury blow against Shakhtar that could cost them dearly against the league leaders…

Chris Sutton fears for Arsenal after Riccardo Calafiori’s injury

Riccardo Calafiori has been fantastic for Arsenal since joining the club in the summer transfer window from Bologna as he continues to establish himself as the first-choice left-back.

The Italian started the game and went down in the 66th minute with a suspected knee problem, although he did come back onto the pitch to shake off his injury.

However, he couldn’t carry on and asked to be substituted as Myles Lewis-Skelly took his place in the team to see off the game.

Judging by the way he went down, Sutton fears Calafiori could face a spell on the sidelines.

“It was the way Riccardo Calafiori fell. When he went down again, you think there’s something there,” said the former Blackburn Rovers striker on BBC Sport.

“It is so unfortunate as he’s been brilliant since he came to Arsenal. He can play in the midfield role, he has the awareness for that. Calafiori will be a massive loss at the weekend.”

Who can deputize for Calafiori vs Liverpool?

Arteta said after the game that Arsenal will assess Calafiori after his latest setback and also confirmed that Bukayo Saka is ‘unlikely’ to feature against Liverpool.

With William Saliba suspended, Jurrien Timber a doubt and the likes of Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu injured, Arsenal’s mounting injury list could see one of Oleksandr Zinchenko or Jakub Kiwior feature at left-back against Liverpool.

With just over four days to go for the crunch clash against the Reds, Calafiori faces a race against time to prove his fitness in what could potentially be a title-deciding game for Arsenal so early in the season.

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