Arsenal: Hector Bellerin doubt absolutely critical

Hector Bellerin was substituted at half-time of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. His doubtful status for Liverpool’s trip to the Emirates is absolutely critical.

Injuries are a natural difficulty that all teams must deal with. It is why managers horde such large squads. They want to have options to rotate through to help keep their players fresh and not suffer a drop off in performance when key contributors do have to miss time.

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So far this season, Arsenal have had rather good injury luck. The only players that have missed significant time have not been established starters, with Unai Emery generally having the pick of his cohort each and every match.

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But last weekend, in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, Hector Bellerin was substituted at half-time with a right thigh problem. He was ruled out of Wednesday night’s EFL Cup contest with Blackpool, although it would have been unlikely that he would have played anyway, and he is now a doubt for Saturday’s match against Liverpool. And that is absolutely critical.

Bellerin will face a late fitness test prior to the weekend’s almighty test against arguably the best team in the Premier League this season. It remains to be seen whether he is fit enough to start — and if he is fit enough, at what capacity he will be playing after a week dealing with an injury and missing training throughout. The fitness of Bellerin is a huge worry and could have a serious impact on Arsenal’s chances.

Liverpool’s primary threat comes through the speed, interchangeable movement, and vicious threat of their front three, established by wingers Mohamed Salah and Saido Mane flying around the holding presence of Roberto Firmino. It might well be the best attacking trio in the league. Containing them is no mean feat.

And Mane, who plays off the left side and would face off with Bellerin, is in the best form of his career. He has already scored six league goals this season. Only two players have scored more this season. The Senegalese winger is an extremely quick player with great timing in his runs, capable of bursting into the space in behind a defence at any point. Bellerin has the athleticism to at least try and stay with him.

Bellerin’s replacement, Stephan Lichtsteiner, however, does not. This is no particular slight on Lichtsteiner. He is a 34-year-old defender renowned for his positional awareness and experience, not his speed. But as Wilfried Zaha proved last weekend, in one-on-ones, the Swiss international does struggle against extremely quick and direct wingers, just like Mane.

Bellerin’s availability will be a key storyline to follow this week. If Arsenal want a chance of hanging with Liverpool’s remarkable attacking threat, then the Spaniard needs to play and play free of injury.