Arsenal suffers major setback before huge Liverpool clash amid Bukayo Saka injury wait

Arsenal will be for the crucial match in the against next weekend after he was sent off against . After a VAR review, referee Rob Jones showed the Frenchman a red card.

Saliba pulled down Bournemouth attacker Evanilson when he was chasing the ball and would have been through on goal. Benjamin White was deemed not in a position to cover, and therefore a sending off was the eventual result. A yellow card had initially been issued but that was then overturned when the on-field referee visited the pitchside screen.

Mikel Arteta's side now has to play more than an hour against Bournemouth with 10 men. It will be without Saliba for three Premier League matches and is also , who are both currently out injured.

Saka was potentially in contention for this weekend but when the team news dropped at the Vitality Stadium, it became clear that he hadn't traveled as part of the matchday squad. Odegaard, meanwhile, hasn't played for the Gunners since the end of August.

"Hopefully we have some positive news today and we have some players back tomorrow," Arteta had said in the build-up to the Premier League returning. On Saka, he added: "He is evolving really well. He has done a few things in the last two days. We are hopeful."

The England forward had limped off during the UEFA Nations League game with Greece last week with a suspected hamstring issue. While it isn't serious, it remains to be seen whether or not he will feature midweek in the with the visit of Liverpool only just over a week away.