Arsenal's Right Flank Dilemma: Noni Madueke's Fitness

Mikel Arteta walked into his pre‑Anfield press conference with that familiar half‑smile, the one that usually signals very little is about to be given away. This time, though, the stakes on the right flank are painfully clear.

Bukayo Saka is out with a quad injury. Max Dowman is suspended for three games after Arsenal failed to overturn his red card against Fleetwood. The depth chart on that side of the pitch has been stripped back to the bare bones.

So the obvious question came: what about Noni Madueke?

“We don’t know yet,” Arteta replied, almost on cue.

The answer jarred slightly because it followed a far more upbeat bulletin on Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis. All three trained on Friday and are expected to be available at Anfield. Madueke, though, remains in the grey zone.

His ankle problem, the one that kept him out against Fleetwood, is not thought to be serious. Inside the club there’s a belief he should travel to Merseyside. But belief and availability are not the same thing, and Arteta made it clear Arsenal will push the decision right up against the deadline.

“We have a training session tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s see if he can complete that full session, and after that we’ll know whether he’s available or not.”

Until then, the right wing board is covered in magnets and scribbles. And Arteta is having to consider scenarios he would rather avoid.

Option 1: The obvious answer – Noni Madueke

This is the one Arteta wants. The one that keeps the rest of his planning intact.

Since the last international break, Madueke has looked sharp on either flank. He stretched Everton, carried a threat one‑v‑one, and his delivery dragged Arsenal back into the game against Leeds earlier this month. With Saka and Dowman missing, he is the only natural right winger left standing.

He offers what Arsenal lack elsewhere in the squad in that role: natural width, the ability to isolate a full-back, and the instinct to attack the outside as well as drift in. At Anfield, where Liverpool’s full-backs push high and the game can become a track meet down the flanks, that profile matters.

But that ankle. It has been managed carefully, and the medical staff will not be reckless in late October for the sake of one league fixture, however big. If he passes Saturday’s final session, he starts. If he doesn’t, the plan becomes far more complicated.

Option 2: The calculated gamble – Christos Tzolis

This is where the experimentation begins.

Throwing Christos Tzolis into a starting XI at Anfield, in any position, would be a bold call. He has not played a single minute for Arsenal since pulling a hamstring with Greece on October 1. He only returned to full training this week and, while he completed Friday’s session, match rhythm is another question entirely.

There is also the issue of role. Tzolis is a left winger by trade and by recruitment. Every appearance for Arsenal so far has come from that side, and that is where he was expected to operate this season after the departures of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

But necessity bends plans. Tzolis has history on the right. Last season, he started there for Club Brugge in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid and scored. Across his career, he has made 26 appearances as a right winger. It’s not his natural habitat, but it’s not alien territory either.

If Madueke fails his fitness test, the decision on Tzolis becomes a medical one rather than a tactical brainstorm. Can he handle the intensity of Anfield from the first whistle after a month out? Or is he a weapon to be released later in the game when spaces open and the tempo dips?

Arteta has used him as a left‑sided solution so far. An enforced switch to the right, in one of the most unforgiving arenas in Europe, would say plenty about Arsenal’s current options.

Option 3: Break-glass emergency – Kai Havertz

Strip away Madueke. Rule out Tzolis from the start. Then what?

This is where Arteta’s aversion to changing formation collides with reality. He has consistently preferred to keep the structure intact and adjust the roles of trusted lieutenants rather than rip up the system. That is how Kai Havertz creeps into the conversation.

On paper, Havertz on the right wing feels awkward. On grass, it would almost certainly morph into something different. In possession, he could drift inside, operate between the lines and effectively play as a second striker close to Viktor Gyokeres, leaving the width to the full-back. Out of possession, his work rate and tactical discipline give Arteta a reliable cog in the defensive block.

It is not ideal. On current form, Havertz would struggle to argue he deserves to start anywhere for Arsenal, let alone in an unfamiliar role at Anfield. But managers often fall back on trust when the options thin out, and few in this squad enjoy Arteta’s faith to the same extent.

If the right wing becomes a patchwork job, Havertz is the duct tape: not pretty, not perfect, but dependable under stress.

Arteta will hope it never comes to that. One clean training session from Madueke on Saturday and the whole debate disappears, the magnets slide back into their usual places, and Arsenal walk into Anfield with at least one thing feeling normal on a night when very little ever does.