Mikel Arteta is facing a selection crisis for Arsenal's trip to face Liverpool this weekend after three fresh injury concerns were revealed.
The Gunners fell to one of the biggest cup upsets in history on Tuesday night as they were beaten on penalties by Fleetwood in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The two sides are separated by 84 places across the English football pyramid but the club sitting 18th in League Two secured a famous victory over the Premier League champions.
Dowman sent off in defeat
Arsenal's night was made worse by Max Dowman's sending off in the closing stages of the match. He kicked out at Harrison Neal after a heavy challenge and was shown a straight red card. Arteta had some angry words for the 16-year-old on his way past down the tunnel.
The Arsenal boss revealed that was because he had spoken to Dowman before the match about that kind of situation, indicating he had warned the teenager not to respond to any rough treatment.
Three players out with injuries
Arteta's frustration is likely to have been added to by the major selection issues he now faces for the showdown at Anfield on Sunday. Speaking after the defeat to Fleetwood, Arteta revealed that three of his first-team players were left out of the squad due to injury concerns.
"[Riccardo] Calafiori was out, Noni [Madueke] was out with an ankle [injury], and Declan [Rice] was feeling a problem the other day, which is why I had to substitute him," Arteta said.
Rice went off against Everton after holding his right hamstring shortly before he was replaced, while Calafiori was a late substitute himself but spent the final minutes of that match stood up front. He then went straight down the tunnel after the game.
Right wing options limited
Madueke's ankle issue is a new one and that leaves Arsenal incredibly short on the right wing. Bukayo Saka is out with a quad injury and could be out until Christmas, while Dowman is now suspended for Arsenal's next three matches.
There are hopes that Christos Tzolis will be back in training this week after a hamstring injury but there is no guarantee he is available to face Liverpool. He has also not played on the right wing for Arsenal, with Tzolis signed in the summer as an option for the left side of the attack.
If Madueke's injury requires any sort of spell on the sidelines, it leaves Arteta with no obvious option to start on the right at Anfield. Kai Havertz might be required to fill in. However, he endured a miserable night against Fleetwood and has showed no sign of his best form since returning from the international break with a hamstring issue.
