Arne Slot Performs Hugo Ekitike Injury U-Turn Ahead of Arsenal Trip

A not so subtle hint about the Frenchman’s condition was dropped by a staff member.

Hugo Ekitiké missed Liverpool’s trip to Fulham on Sunday. / Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Liverpool manager Arne Slot rowed back on his previous diagnosis that Hugo Ekitiké would likely be available for Thursday’s blockbuster trip to Arsenal, revealing instead that the French striker was yet to return to training.

Ekitiké sat out Liverpool’s 2–2 draw with Fulham on Sunday with what Slot described as a “slight hamstring injury.” The Dutch boss was keen to play down the severity of the 23-year-old’s ailment, waving it away as only marginally more than muscle soreness immediately after the trip to Craven Cottage.

However, in his preview for the midweek clash with table-topping Arsenal, Slot acknowledged that his optimism may have been somewhat hasty.

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“He hasn’t trained with us up until now,” Slot said of Ekitiké on Wednesday morning, less than 48 hours before leading his players to an Emirates Stadium where no team has yet beaten Arsenal. “Let’s see if he can train with us today.

“Two or three days ago, when we played against Fulham, I said he wouldn’t be out for long but it’s hard because the games come so fast,” he acknowledged. “He is in-between maybe training with the team or it maybe taking him one or two days extra.”

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Ekitiké Absence Hinted by Liverpool Staff

Hugo Ekitiké is Liverpool’s top scorer this season. / Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Ekitiké’s absence was a blow for Slot and Fantasy Premier League managers across the globe. While the popular game would have been of little immediate concern to the Dutch head coach, it appears as though FPL has offered a hint about his injury news.

The account credited to Lee Nobes, Liverpool’s head of physiotherapy, traded Ekitiké for Brentford striker Igor Thiago before the trip to Arsenal, the Daily Mail report.

Even if this is a legitimate account, the reasoning behind the FPL transfer is open to rampant speculation. Thiago is, after all, fresh from scoring a hat-trick and just two goals shy of recording the most prolific Premier League campaign by any Brazilian in the competition’s history, surpassing a record jointly shared by Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino.

What Slot would give for a central option like that for this all-important meeting with Arsenal.

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How Liverpool Can Line Up Against Arsenal Without Ekitiké

Gakpo’s late goal wasn’t enough to win it for Liverpool. / Getty/Jacques Feeney

In the absence of Ekitiké against Fulham, Slot turned to Cody Gakpo. The Netherlands forward was regularly deployed through the middle under Jürgen Klopp and suffered through significant barren patches. Gakpo’s international manager Ronald Koeman put this inconsistency down to his positioning.

“First, his position is on the left side,” Koeman bluntly declared during Euro 2024, a tournament in which Gakpo excelled while exclusively lining up as a winger. “Because he is really dangerous if he comes one-against-one with the right full-back. Inside, outside, he has his qualities, he’s strong.”

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Slot, who first came across Gakpo’s qualities out wide when the pair were adversaries in the Dutch top flight, has tended to agree with his compatriot. Last weekend’s meeting with Fulham was the first of Gakpo’s 51 starts for Slot as a centre forward. The 26-year-old bundled in a late goal but struggled for much of a stodgy contest.

Yet, with Alexander Isak nowhere near a return from his broken leg and Ekitiké potentially still on the sidelines, Gakpo could be forced to reprise a role in which he has never looked comfortable.

Federico Chiesa is no more of a natural striker than Gakpo while Slot seems reluctant to return to the double false-nine system of Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai which worked in brief bursts last season.

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