It has been revealed how long Bukayo Saka could be out for after he was forced to come off during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds United at the weekend. The 23-year-old winger suffered a hamstring injury shortly after half-time at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
According to the BBC, Saka will be unavailable for up to four weeks. The Hale End graduate will miss the Gunners’ clash against Liverpool on Sunday, as well as England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September.
football.london understands that injury is indeed not as serious as first feared. Saka’s issue isn’t anything like the severity of the problem that required surgery last season on the other leg.
As for Odegaard, he’s been in some pain, but his issue is also hoped to have a quicker recovery time. This will come as a relief to Mikel Arteta ahead of a crucial clash against the reigning Premier League champions.
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Speaking to reporters after the Leeds game, the Gunners boss addressed the two setbacks. He said: “Martin felt something in his shoulder when he landed. And Bukayo, while he was carrying the ball, wrestling with the defender, he felt something in his hamstring.
“Let’s see, I think it’s the other one, it’s not the same one as the previous injury. We’ve been two weeks and we’ve already lost Kai, Martin and Bukayo, so it tells you how well-equipped you have to be in this league to manage and to maintain the level that we want.”
When pressed for an update on Saka, Arteta added: “I don’t know, he felt something while he was sprinting. That’s never a good sign. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow, speak to the doctors and understand better what he’s done. But he’s had his injuries before, he knows exactly the feeling of that.”
On the importance of squad depth, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still out, Arteta said: “That’s what we need. I think the other way is not realistic to survive at the levels that we want for 10 months because none of the other top teams in the league do it.
“So we’re going to be different. They still have even bigger squads than we have. So that’s the minimum that we can have to compete and be able to do what we want.”
On not having to rely on certain players, Arteta said: “You just have to see the evolution and the way the team played, the amount of minutes that team played in 2023/24.
“You could name the team starting in 2011. Last year it was a bit different because of the amount of injuries we had as well, and the start has not been great in that sense, but we are much more equipped without a doubt.
“It’s necessary if you want to compete at this level and be very dominant, there is no other option.”
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