Arteta said of the pair: “They are out again. I think pretty soon [they will return]. They have to go through the last stage of the rehab and, if everything goes well, hopefully very soon they will be available for selection.”
Table-topping Arsenal have only been beaten twice in the league so far this season, although the first of those defeats did come in the reverse fixture at Anfield in late August.
Looking ahead to this latest meeting, Slot said: “Another challenge for us, with of course players being out but still enough very good players available to go to Arsenal and make it a proper fight.”
Arteta offered: “We are top of the table, we play at home against a really, really good opponent and we want to maintain our position. In order to do that, we’re going to have to be excellent throughout the game to deserve to win the game – that’s the point we have to prove.”
Last match
AFC Bournemouth 2-3 Arsenal (January 3): Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres.
Fulham 2-2 Liverpool (January 4): Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo.
