Arsenal lost vital ground in the Premier League title race after playing out a 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners twice led the game only to get pegged back, with Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser ensuring the spoils were shared.
The result means Mikel Arteta’s side are now five points behind leaders Manchester City in the table.
Arsenal cannot afford to drop more points this Saturday when they visit St James’ Park to play against Newcastle United.
The North Londoners have a few injury woes this weekend as Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard remain sidelined.
However, Mikel Arteta has also confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Takehiro Tomiyasu will not be available for the away fixture.
The Spaniard said (per BBC Sport): “No, I don’t expect him to be available before the break, unfortunately”.
Tomiyasu missed the first 10 matches of the 2024-25 campaign after picking up a knee issue in July.
He returned to the pitch for just six minutes against Southampton last month before sustaining another problem.
Arteta doesn’t expect the 25-year-old to be available before the coming international break, meaning he will miss the matches against Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea.
Tomiyasu came to Arsenal in the summer of 2021 but his time in North London has been marred by injury problems.
Since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium, the defender has made 84 appearances in all competitions, with eight goal contributions to his name.
Last season, he made only 10 Premier League starts due to a calf injury.
Stats from Transfermarkt
