Mikel Arteta concerned by Bukayo Saka injuries after latest hamstring blow

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

Bukayo Saka was forced off in the second half of Arsenal’s win against Leeds United last weekend.

– Mikel Arteta said Bukayo Saka’s recurring hamstring injuries are a “big concern” after the Arsenal winger was ruled out for at least two weeks.

Saka was forced off in the second half of Arsenal’s win against Leeds United on Aug 23 and will be sidelined for the Aug 31 trip to English Premier League champions Liverpool.

The 23-year-old could be in a position to return to action in September, but Gunners boss Arteta is worried about his star forward’s cycle of injuries.

Saka missed 3½ months of the 2024-25 season following surgery on his right hamstring in December 2024.

He returned in April and played 13 times before sustaining the latest hamstring issue, this time in his left leg, in just his second appearance of this season.

“He does not need surgery. It’s not as bad as the previous one. He felt something, so he will be out for a couple of weeks,” Arteta told reporters on Aug 29.

“But it is obviously a concern, a big one, especially when we talk about a sprinter and a player that gets into that zone very often in a football match, who needs that burst, that change of rhythm of pace to be as threatening as possible.

“We will learn again as to why it happened and make him stronger. Unfortunately injuries are part of a career. He hasn’t had that many to be fair with the amount of games that he has played at his age, but it is something that we want to eradicate.”

Arteta could be without as many as seven players for Arsenal’s early showdown with title rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are all out, while Martin Odegaard, Christian Norgaard, Leandro Trossard and Ben White are doubts.

Havertz underwent what the club described as a minor surgical procedure on his knee this week.

Odegaard could feature after falling awkwardly on his shoulder in the win over Leeds.

“It is very unfortunate, and very sad for him,” said Arteta of Havertz, who missed three months of last season with a hamstring injury.

“He did tremendously well to recover from the previous one. He’s never had an injury before. And suddenly this happens.

“Obviously, we lose another big player for many, many weeks. But it was the right thing to do. The doctors advised, and he was very convinced at the end, that it was the quickest and the best way to resolve that issue.”

The injuries will put the focus on summer signings like Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze, who were signed in part to help Arsenal combat exactly these kinds of situations.

Gyokeres scored his first two Premier League goals – including one from the penalty spot – against Leeds. Eze has yet to make his debut for the Gunners after completing his transfer from Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £67.5 million (S$117 million) this week.

“It’s the start of the season and we lost three of our main players, but that’s the reality,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

“A very unfortunate situation, three very different situations. But that’s why we keep insisting, like everybody else, you need a big squad to be able to cope and sustain the level.”

Arsenal finished as runners-up to Liverpool last season, coming 10 points behind Arne Slot’s side.

Asked if Liverpool are the favourites to retain the crown, Arteta said: “The favourite is always the one that won the previous year.

“Somebody has to come and take that crown away from them so that is what we will try to do. The aim is to be better than them.”

While both teams have a 100 per cent record after two matches, their last four meetings at Anfield in all competitions have ended in a draw.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he did not blame goalkeeper James Trafford for his error in last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, but did not say if the Englishman would start in the visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Aug 31.

Trafford was caught playing out from the back and Richarlison fed Joao Palhinha to score Tottenham’s second with a deflected shot, as City suffered their first loss this season.

“Always we have arms around the shoulders,” Guardiola told reporters on Aug 29.

“What happened doesn’t belong just to James in the second goal. He is a strong man and a huge personality. We are here to help them, no doubt about that.”

However, the manager said he would decide on Aug 30 who would start in goal at Brighton, as he aims to guide City to their seventh league title during his tenure.

“After two games, I feel like we’re going to do a good season. I know that people maybe don’t believe it, despite what happened in the last game and maybe on Sunday,” the coach said.

The 22-year-old Trafford had retained his place from the season-opening win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, when Ederson was unable to play due to illness.

But with speculation also surrounding the future of the Brazilian – and City also linked with Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma – the question of who will be City’s ‘number one’ may remain unresolved until after the closure of the transfer window next week and when club football resumes following the upcoming international break. AFP, REUTERS

Click here to read article