Mikel Arteta will have important player Bukayo Saka available for Saturday’s trip to Everton, but only amid lingering concerns over the forward’s fitness.
Saka, 22, was one of the bright lights of Arsenal’s 2022/23 Premier League season, participating in all 38 games as the Gunners came agonizingly close to winning the league.
His excellent form earned him the PFA Young Player of the Season award, and he was selected the 2023 England Men’s Player of the Year earlier this month.
His involvement with the national team, on the other hand, will no sure cause his club management to have second thoughts. Now a regular starter for Gareth Southgate, the manner in which he was targeted by Ukraine defenders in Poland on Saturday would have had Arteta wincing.
The player was subsequently left on the bench for Tuesday’s friendly in Scotland, but came on late in the second half.
The absence, though, was not just due to Southgate rotating his squad and managing Saka’s fatigue, according to the Daily Mail.
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Saka is also reportedly being troubled by an ongoing achilles injury, an issue which plagued him in the 2022/23 season. That’s despite him making 48 appearances for the North London club in all competitions.
And Arteta will be all too aware of the dangers of a player persisting through an injury issue. Last season, Emilie Smith Rowe was absent until March after undergoing surgery for a long-term groin problem.
Whilst there are no immediate fears over a similar lay-off, losing Saka could potentially derail Arsenal’s season, given how pivotal he’s become to the Gunners.
And the current concerns come ahead of the side returning to the Champions League next week when they host PSV Eindhoven next Wednesday.
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