Arteta gives update on Saka fitness ahead of Lens v Arsenal

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given an update on the fitness of Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka once again limped off the pitch late on in the Gunners’ recent 4-0 win over Bournemouth. This incident came at the end of a week in which the 22-year-old had already struggled with an injury issue.

Saka plays an awful lot of minutes for Arsenal, and is clearly central to Mikel Arteta’s plans. He is also often a target for oppositions defenders, who would regularly rather bring him down than allow him to skip past them.

Despite being physically tested so consistently, the £195,000-a-week forward is seemingly always available to play, and always plays when he is available. Saka’s remarkable durability is one of his most underrated traits.

After taking a knock against the Cherries, many will have questioned whether Saka would be fit to play against Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, or even if he could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines. Speaking ahead of that match, Arteta has put such fears to rest.

Saka is fit but not needed against Lens

As quoted by the official Arsenal website, Arteta said, “he’s fine, he’s much better. Obviously he took a big knock but he’s recovered well and he trained today. It’s great if he’s available and we will make that call tomorrow.”

Even if Saka is fully fit to start against Lens, Arteta would be wise to bench the 30-cap England international anyway. Arsenal have a huge Premier League clash with Manchester City coming up at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. It would be ideal to have a fresh, rested Saka to call upon for that match.

In the meantime, with all due respect to the French side, the Gunners ought to have enough quality to beat Lens with a slightly rotated side. This could see Reiss Nelson or Fabio Vieira come in for Saka on the right flank. Both of those players have shown plenty of quality when called upon so far this season.