Arsenal pay the price for transfer decision after Champions League debacle
Tom Weber
- 4 Oct 2023 16:48 BST
- 4 min read
Arsenal face title-rivals Man City at the weekend and they could be without star man Bukayo Saka.
The England winger was taken off with a knock for the third game running in the Gunners' Champions League disaster away at RC Lens. Last season's Ligue 1 runners-up - who are currently languishing in 15th - defeated the Premier League behemoth 2-1.
Saka was also previously forced off against Tottenham and Bournemouth, so Mikel Arteta's decision to risk him prior to the crucial game against City raised eyebrows. Worryingly, the Spaniard apparently told Norwegian journalist Arilas Ould-Saada that the injury "doesn't look good."
READ: Arteta fails to keep Arsenal promise in Lens loss
At the press conference after the match, he was asked whether he regretted selecting Saka. "No," Arteta said. "It was a knock that he had the other day and he was perfectly fine. It was a backheel, an action that can produce that kind of injury.
"Let's see what the extent of it is and afterwards it's too late. The last few were more knocks than anything else. He hasn't really missed games. We gave him a break against Brentford [in the Carabao Cup] last week and that was all.
"He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and felt something muscular. He felt uncomfortable to carry on so we had to take him off. We don't know anything more. It was big enough not to allow him to continue to play the game and that's a worry for us."
Decision coming back to bite
Now, without Saka, Arsenal will potentially be shorthanded on the right wing against City. The decision not to add quality cover in that position during the summer could now come back to bite Arteta.
It was inevitable that Saka would eventually face fitness issues. Prior to his injury, the 22-year-old had featured in 87 consecutive Premier League games, a record that has now taken its toll despite previous attempts at resting him for midweek fixtures.
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Arteta recently hinted at the Saka problem prior to the Bournemouth game. “We have to protect him, that is for sure. And we have to know when it is the right time to give him that rest. But there is something within him as well that is growing within him. That’s a really important part of his game.
“I think with experience he is recognising those situations where he could be injured much better and is exposing his body much less. In previous seconds before the action actually happens - and that is something we are working on to protect his physique.”
Not signing a backup could jeopardise Arsenal's hopes of challenging for the Premier League title.
