Arsenal are reportedly considering playing Bukayo Saka against Manchester City in their matchday 8 Premier League clash on Sunday 8 October 2023.
The 22-year-old had to be taken off from Arsenal’s game in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday after he felt some discomfort in the 34th minute of if the game. His absence would cost Arsenal in attack as they went on to lose 2-1 to their opponents RC Lens.
The win was an upset but Arsenal fans can take solace in the fact that it happened at the home of the French team. Their biggest worry was the injury to Saka, whose presence in the club has been vital to all their successes since his debut five seasons ago.
Their next match in the league is against defending champions Manchester City, who Mikel Arteta has been unable to overcome since taking over the role in 2019. Saka being out halves the attack power of Arsenal and this was a big worry for the club and fans.
Recent comments, however, suggest that the injury is not as bad as it looks.
Tests which were carried out reportedly diagnosed the Englishman with a dead leg. They claim that he is fine and that he will be monitored closely until the game.
Mikel Arteta further came out to state that the player trained with them on Thursday morning but is still under medical supervision. “He’s fine. He’s much better. It was a big knock but he has recovered well and trained with us today,” Arteta said to reporters.
This indicates a 50-50 chance of the 22-year-old getting a run against Manchester City on Sunday. However, this could mean that he misses the upcoming international break with England because he will need to recover fully.
Meanwhile, news about a right winger signing that Arsenal is looking to make has taken over the media space.
Saka is the club’s undisputed starting right winger but he has Reiss Nelson as his cover. The Englishman is not convincing enough for many at the club, forcing them to consider the £50 million signing of Portuguese winger Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January.
The reports of Arsenal considering Neto is due to Saka’s injury concerns of late. While the forward has not spent so much time on the sidelines, he has had a couple of incidents that make a reliable cover more than necessary.
Neto was the star of Wolves’ win over City in the last Premier League matchday. That performance has already seen many transfer news swell around him.
It remains to be seen what Arsenal will do as January approaches.
