Liverpool cannot play player brought back from loan against Arsenal due to suspension - Reports
Liverpool reportedly cannot play left-back Owen Beck in their FA Cup opener against Arsenal on Sunday (January 7).
Beck, 21, left for a season-long loan spell at Dundee but was recalled by the Reds this week due to an injury crisis at left-back, with Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimkas. However, the youngster cannot feature against the Gunners due to a one-game suspension carrying over from his spell in Scotland (as per Empire of the Kop via The Athletic).
The player received bookings in Scottish League Cup games against Bonnyrigg Rose and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, ruling him out of the next game. With Dundee not making the knockouts, Beck's suspension remains unserved.
As per the Football Association, that suspension will have to be served out in his next competitive outing, which was expected to be against the Gunners, for which he's ruled out now.
Beck's unavailability for the Gunners clash means Joe Gomez is expected to continue at left-back. Nevertheless, with at least two more cup games - in the EFL Cup - coming up this month, the 21-year-old will have ample opportunities to make an impression on Reds manager Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool vs Arsenal: A few interesting tidbits
Liverpool and Arsenal are set to clash for the 14th time in the FA Cup, but their first meeting in football's oldest competition (started in 1871-72) since 2014.
The Reds (2006, 2022) and the Gunners (2005) are the only teams in FA Cup history to win the competition on penalties. Jurgen Klopp's side haven't won an FA Cup game at the Gunners since 1964.
Arsenal have lost just once in 13 home games across competitions this season, winning 10, but their defeat came in their last outing against West Ham United in the Premier League. Nevertheless, the Reds will fancy their chances of winning at the Emirates, having scored in 19 of their last 21 meetings with Mikel Arteta's side.
Only twice (2018, 2022) since the turn of the century have the Gunners fallen in the third round of the FA Cup. Liverpool, meanwhile, last lost at this stage of the competition in 2019 (against Wolverhampton Wanderers), their earliest exit in 12 years.