Mikel Arteta now faces a nightmare scenario at Arsenal after Bukayo Saka suffered an injury, which highlights the Gunners’ colossal mistake in the summer transfer window.
The Gunners are set to travel to Brentford in the Carabao Cup this Wednesday night. But the involvement of Saka at the Gtech Community Stadium is now in doubt after Arteta revealed he has not been training. It follows the heavy knock he sustained in the north London derby.
Arteta felt obliged to bring Saka off during the second half against Tottenham Hotspur as the winger started to limp. He took a knock to his foot in a hard challenge and could not shake it off. Now, the winger is a doubt for Arsenal’s tie at Brentford in the Carabao Cup third round.
Arteta admits Saka’s injury is worse than Arsenal first thought
Reports by football.london, which quote Arteta, add that Arsenal did not sense Saka’s injury was a serious issue initially. The club believed it was just a knock despite the winger being in real pain following the north London derby. But he has not trained at London Colney since.
“He was limping quite badly after the match,” Arteta stated about Saka’s injury this Tuesday. “We had to get him off the field. He hasn’t been able to participate in the [training] session. It’s a possibility [that Saka could miss the AFC Bournemouth top-flight match this Saturday].”
Arteta faces a nightmare that highlights a huge transfer mistake
Saka potentially missing Arsenal’s Carabao Cup tie at Brentford and Premier League game at Bournemouth leaves Arteta with a depleted squad. The Spanish coach was already set to be without the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber.
But losing Saka to an injury highlights what a huge mistake Arsenal made by not signing any forwards this summer. Arteta spent heavily to strengthen his squad with midfielders Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, defender Timber and goalkeeper David Raya but did not sign a winger.
It was clear last season that Arsenal needed someone who could allow Arteta to rest Saka if and when required. He started in 37 of the Gunners’ 38 Premier League games, their two FA Cup ties and three of their eight Europa League fixtures and appeared as a sub in the others.
Saka has smashed Arsenal’s record for playing in the highest number of consecutive Premier League games this term, too. But that run may end this weekend and Arteta has no obvious replacement. Emile Smith Rowe came on against Spurs but is suited to playing from the left.
Arsenal do not have an obvious Saka replacement
An alternative option to face Brentford and Bournemouth could be Reiss Nelson, who signed a new contract this July. But the 23-year-old has scored just seven and assisted eight goals in 69 games for Arsenal’s first-team. He has never scored more than three times in a season.
Another alternative may be Fabio Vieira, who Arteta occasionally played in Saka’s spot in the Europa League last season. But the 23-year-old is far from an ideal replacement and is yet to fully live up to his price tag. Arteta paid FC Porto £34m to sign their playmaker in June 2022.
Outings like Vieira’s from the bench to inspire a 2-2 draw with Fulham have shown Arteta he has potential. Yet not signing a player who can truly understudy Saka will haunt Arsenal if an extended absence hurts their season. Alongside Martin Odegaard, he is their heart and soul.
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