Why Declan Rice is missing from Arsenal squad for Liverpool clash

Arsenal have confirmed that Declan Rice could not be considered for selection against Liverpool due to an injury.

Mikel Arteta has made two changes to his starting XI for the trip to Anfield, with Leandro Trossard replacing Rice – allowing Mikel Merino to drop back into midfield.

The Arsenal head coach has also opted to recall Ben White at right-back for Jurrien Timber, who starts among the substitutes for this afternoon’s heavyweight contest on Merseyside.

While there remains uncertainty over the nature and severity of Rice’s injury, Arteta has confirmed the England midfielder was not able to train in the build-up to today’s action.

‘He and Jurrien are not fit – Declan couldn’t even train so he’s injured unfortunately and couldn’t make the game,’ Arteta said.

Otherwise, the visitors enter the clash with the same side that suffered a painful 2-1 defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals in midweek.

The Gunners are desperate to return to winning ways following a three-game losing streak in all competitions and sit 15 points adrift of Liverpool, the newly crowned champions, ahead of kick-off.

Newcastle are hot the heels of Arsenal in third place, with just one point separating the two teams in what has fast become an intriguing fight for second place.

Eddie Howe’s Magpies ensured they maintained the pressure on Arteta’s men with an impressive 2-0 victory over Chelsea at St James’ Park earlier in the day.

Liverpool have made six changes in total for the visit of Arsenal, with Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson returning in defence.

There are also recalls further forward for Luis Diaz, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Facing the media ahead of the match, Arne Slot heaped praise on Arteta and credited the Spaniard with building a ‘special’ side.

‘Mikel should get, in my opinion, a lot of credit for the way his team plays,’ said Slot,’ the Liverpool boss told reporters at his pre-match press conference.

‘Arsenal can play almost every style. It is a big accomplishment to be able to have only one style, but Mikel’s team are capable of being different, as we saw in the two games against PSG.

‘They can play off set-pieces. They can defend in a low block and be the dominant team. They can play a high-press. They can build up from the back or play the long ball.

‘Every part of the game they are good, and that means it is difficult to analyse them because you don’t know what you’re going to face.

‘The only way you can have that is if you work at a club for so many years but not all managers who have been at clubs a long time can play so many styles. This is special. You don’t see it a lot.’

Arteta, meanwhile, said Liverpool’s ability to keep their key players fit and available for much their Premier League campaign likely played a key role in their success this term.

‘That’s a big thing to win trophies, you know, and they did that extremely well,’ Arteta said.

‘They managed to maintain that consistency, that level of players, a system, a coach, a stadium that has created again, and consistently, an incredible atmosphere for them.

‘So you need a lot of ingredients or you don’t win the Premier League.

‘That’s the difficulty of it, and it’s true that this season we never found that consistently because of the issues that we had. I don’t want to use it as an excuse.

‘We have the best league in the world, yes? We all agree. But we were the only team from this league on the park in the semi-finals of the Champions League. That’s the level.’