Arsenal could call on Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis for Sunday's Premier League fixture at Liverpool after the trio trained on Friday. Mikel Arteta gave the update at his pre-match press conference, with the three players having sat out the midweek EFL Cup fourth-round defeat at Fleetwood Town.

Trio in contention for Anfield

Arteta confirmed the group had come through the session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre. "They all trained today, they will train tomorrow and if all is okay, they will be available," he said, as reported by Daily Cannon.

Rice and Calafiori had been absent on Tuesday because of problems picked up in last weekend's meeting with Everton, according to Football.London. Their return after a single match out gives Arteta his senior options back in midfield and defence.

Tzolis has been missing far longer. According to Arseblog News, the winger has been sidelined for nearly four weeks by a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty with Greece; he came off early in his nation’s 2-2 draw against the Netherlands earlier this month and then returned to London for treatment. Daily Cannon puts his absence at six matches.

Arseblog News suggests a starting role at Anfield may arrive too soon for him, though a place among the substitutes is a possibility.

Madueke to be assessed

Noni Madueke, another who missed the Fleetwood game with a knock taken against Everton, has not been ruled out. Arteta was non-committal when asked about the winger. "We don't know yet," he said. "We have a training session tomorrow. He said: "Let's see if he can complete that full session tomorrow and after that we'll know whether he's available or not."

Daily Cannon reports that Arteta answered "No" when asked whether Madueke had been excluded from contention, while Arseblog News expects the player to travel if he comes through Saturday’s's work.

The need is clear. Bukayo Saka is sidelined by a quad problem and Max Dowman is serving a three-match league ban, leaving Arsenal short of wide options, as Arseblog News notes.

Saka still waiting on scan

There was less encouraging news on Saka, who is still awaiting the results of further tests on his muscle injury. Arteta explained the delay. He explained: "He needed another scan to see how the amount of fluid that was there was resolving, whether the tendon is touched and how badly it is touched." Afterwards, we'll know more about it."

Pressed on a timeframe, the manager suggested the 25-year-old would "probably" be out until after the upcoming internationals, adding: "We'll have to see next week." Daily Cannon reports Arteta describing it as "likely" that Saka will miss the England camp, while stressing that a decision would come next week.

Arteta also spoke about the player's state of mind. He said: "We want to have him back as quick as possible." The player is desperate. He added: "He's feeling much better than he was a few days ago, and we need to wait and see how he evolves."

Saliba closing in, Dowman banned

William Saliba is expected to return to full training in the coming days, with Arseblog News reporting that his first appearance of the season is pencilled in for after the international break. He will not feature at Anfield.

Dowman is unavailable through suspension, and Football.London notes that Arsenal's appeal against his red card was rejected by the FA.

Football.London also points out that Arsenal have not won a top-flight match at Liverpool since September 2012, a sequence they will attempt to end on Sunday.

Photo: Bryan Berlin via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized.