Arsenal were dealt a huge injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash at Elland Road after Bukayo Saka suffered an injury in the warm-up.
The Gunners’ injury woes are really beginning to stack up, and this time, Mikel Arteta has just lost one of his key attackers.
Fill in the blank: Berta must sign _________ in the January window following Saka’s injury…
The winger appeared to sustain a hip injury during a rondo drill at Elland Road and was replaced by Noni Madueke.
The Arsenal manager has now been speaking about the injury, but his latest update on the 24-year-old could be good news for the North London club.
Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka’s injury ahead of Leeds vs Arsenal
Arteta has revealed that Bukayo Saka only suffered a ‘little niggle’ in the warm-up ahead of Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Leeds United.
The Gunners’ supporters will have been sweating after Saka was spotted leaving the pitch before kick-off with a physio.
However, after the match, Arteta told Sky Sports via Football.London: “[Saka] had a little niggle and he wasn’t comfortable to start the game.
“So we made a decision straight away, and now we are going to have to do some tests tomorrow and see how he is.”
The North London club will now be sweating over his fitness and hoping that scans in the next few days show nothing sinister.
True or false: Noni Madueke CAN step up and replace Bukayo Saka for the next few weeks…
Meanwhile, Madueke really impressed against Leeds, as the former Chelsea star produced two assists in the first 45 minutes at Elland Road.
His first was a wicked cross which picked out the head of Martin Zubimendi, and then 11 minutes later, his corner forced Karl Darlow to score an own goal.
The Gunners have now re-extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points, with Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres also scoring.
Mikel Arteta thinks Noni Madueke was ‘very impressive’ vs Leeds
Arteta believes that Madueke was ‘very impressive’ to come into the team just minutes ahead of kick-off and to play so well.
Speaking about the decision to start Madueke so late, Arteta told the media: “In the warm-up, he had a little niggle, so we made the decision.
“We made the change to bring Noni in; you cannot do that in two minutes. So very impressive.”
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