Mikel Arteta announced on Monday that winger Bukayo Saka would be out for “many weeks” due to a ruptured hamstring, dealing a serious injury blow to Arsenal.
After leaving the stadium on crutches after the Gunners’ 5-1 victory at Crystal Palace last weekend, this was confirmed when the 23-year-old winger was informed of the news after consulting a specialist.
“It’s not looking good,” commented Areta. “He will be sidelined for several weeks. I’m not sure, so I can’t be too exact, but it will take weeks. That’s a big [blow]. Just look at his impact on the team to see how important he is to us. Considering how much we’ve faced this season, it will be a great exercise for us to come up with solutions for yet another challenge.
“I am putting some ideas together. I haven’t got there yet. But I have a few. Then I want to speak with the players to understand how we will generate that and take it positively. Because that is going to mean we are going to be different.
He felt devastated. He was quite emotional and depressed, so you can tell he hasn’t been hurt. We must also encourage him. It is an important aspect of his work. He will require a few days, but he will be alright. He’ll know right away how crucial he is in that dressing room. Since that is currently the only way he can assist, he must be extremely positive in his body language, energy level, and communication with the other team members.
Despite Arteta’s desire to highlight the team’s internal options, the news that Raheem Sterling will also miss time due to a knee injury is a further setback because the Chelsea loanee would have been a clear replacement.
“He’s going be out for weeks, I believe,” Arteta stated. “To determine the full degree of his injury, more testing is required tomorrow. It’s his knee. We will have to wait another twenty-four hours. He will be absent for some time.
Saka has already sustained three hamstring injuries this season.
He has nine goals and 13 assists in 24 appearances in all competitions, and when asked if Arsenal is prepared to enter the January transfer market to replace Saka if necessary, Arteta responded: “The preparation is complete, and we are ready if anything happens. We didn’t anticipate Bukayo and Raheem being absent simultaneously. We thought that it would be something else, such as an incident on the defensive line. But the task is complete, and if something unexpected occurs, we will remain open. But the key focus now is on how we can harness the remaining potential in this group.