Arsenal have been handed a timely triple boost ahead of Sunday's trip to Anfield, with Noni Madueke, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis all travelling to Merseyside with the squad to face Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta needed good news. The champions arrive at Anfield without Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, and with Max Dowman suspended, after Tuesday's shock Carabao Cup exit on penalties to Fleetwood Town. Three returning names do not fix all of that, but they change the options on the bench and, possibly, in the starting eleven.
The trio have travelled
According to Sports Mole, reporting word from HandofArsenal on Saturday evening, Madueke, Calafiori and Tzolis have all travelled to Liverpool. It remains to be seen whether any of the three make the official matchday squad, and travelling is not the same as starting — but for a squad stretched this thin, it is a significant step in the right direction.
Arteta had already given supporters reason for optimism on Friday. Asked about Declan Rice, Calafiori and Tzolis, he said they had all trained and would train again, and that if everything was okay they would be available. Sunday's travelling party suggests that check has, at the very least, not ruled them out.
Tzolis drops his own hint
The most intriguing case is Tzolis. The £34m summer signing has missed Arsenal's last six matches after picking up a hamstring problem on Greece duty during the September and October international break, but Arteta confirmed on Friday that he had returned to training.
The winger then appeared to drop a hint of his own. As Sports Mole reported in a second piece citing The Standard, Tzolis transferred himself back into his own Fantasy Premier League team for this weekend — the kind of move players rarely make when they know they will be watching from the stands. He also kept fellow doubt Calafiori in his side, a second small clue that the Italian is in contention too.
If Tzolis is involved, Arteta may need him quickly. With Saka out for weeks and Dowman banned, and Madueke himself a doubt, Tzolis could be pressed into duty on the right — a role he has played regularly in his career — rather than eased back in gently.
Calafiori and Madueke: different levels of doubt
Calafiori's case looks the most straightforward. The defender picked up a minor injury in last weekend's 2-0 win over Everton and missed the Fleetwood trip, but there was never serious concern about Anfield, and his presence in the travelling party fits that picture. His return would restore Arteta's first-choice option at left-back for the biggest away test of the season so far.
Madueke is the biggest question mark. The winger missed the Fleetwood defeat with an ankle problem and, unlike Tzolis, had not returned to training before Arteta faced the media on Friday. The manager was noticeably less confident about him. Travelling keeps the door open, but a place on the bench looks more realistic than a start.
Declan Rice is also expected to be involved despite being filmed holding his hamstring late on against Everton, while Saka, Saliba and the suspended Dowman are all confirmed absentees.
So what does it mean?
The stakes could hardly be clearer. After Manchester City's shock 1-0 defeat at home to Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal will go top of the Premier League with at least a point at Anfield — but they have not won a league game there since 2012, and Liverpool arrive as the form side after a revival that has turned this into a genuine test of both clubs' title credentials.
That is why three travelling names matter. Arteta does not just need eleven fit players at Anfield; he needs a bench that can change a game in the final half hour, when visits to Liverpool are so often decided. Even if only two of the trio make the squad, Arsenal's options suddenly look very different.
There was one frustration alongside the boost: Arsenal's reported interest in Paris Saint-Germain teenager David Boly looks to be stalling, with the 17-year-old right-back now expected to sign a new long-term deal in Paris, according to the same reporting. That is a problem for another window. Sunday is about the players Arteta already has.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Travelling parties do not win games at Anfield, but this one tells you Arteta is not arriving short-handed and hoping. Getting Tzolis and Calafiori back in contention on the day Arsenal can go top is exactly the kind of quiet lift that swings a title race — provided at least one of them is fit enough to actually affect the game, not just fill a seat on the coach. Will any of the trio start at Anfield? Let us know what you think in the comments.
