Arne Slot has confirmed striker Hugo Ekitike is a doubt to feature for Liverpool against Arsenal in Thursday’s Premier League clash at Emirates Stadium.
Ekitike, who is Liverpool’s top scorer this season, missed Sunday’s 2-2 draw away to Fulham with a muscle problem. He is still yet to train ahead of the Reds’ trip to north London, with fellow striker Alexander Isak also sidelined with a broken fibula and Mohamed Salah away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations
“He hasn’t trained with us up until now,” Slot said in his pre-match news conference.
“Let’s see if he can train with us today. Two or three days ago, when we played against Fulham, I said he wouldn’t be out for long but it’s hard because the games come so fast. He is inbetween maybe training with the team or it maybe taking him one or two days extra.”
Liverpool’s draw at Craven Cottage means they are now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions and up to fourth in the league table. However, Slot has faced criticism for his team’s lacklustre performances, with the Reds having dropped points in each of their last two games.
“It’s nine games unbeaten but we have definitely had two draws too many,” Slot said. “Where are we? I think I’ve said so many times that the answer to that question is we aren’t where we want to be, but I feel we have a very talented squad. If everyone’s available and ready, then I think we can do special things.
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“I think we’ve also shown that this season because we’ve got quite a lot of impressive wins, but we’ve also had unimpressive draws and losses. We haven’t had the consistency but we’ve already beaten some very good teams, so that tells you the talent is definitely there but the consistency isn’t.”
On the criticism of Liverpool’s style of play, Slot added: “I find it really hard to hear but it is not that I completely disagree. I would use different words and I would take certain things into account. I want to win as many trophies as I can but I think I’m also known for the fact my teams always try to play attacking football. I can only say that we’re still trying to do so.”
