And breathe, Arsenal fans. It’s been a nervous few days waiting for an injury update after Bukayo Saka left warmups for the Leeds United match on Saturday. Fortunately with Arsenal playing the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal against Chelsea on Tuesday, we haven’t had to wait too terribly long.
Mikel Arteta informed the media that Saka’s injury “doesn’t look like something too serious” but that he was a doubt for Tuesday and that they’d see about his availability to face Sunderland at the Emirates
this weekend.
Honestly, the Gunners should be able to take care of business against the Black Cats at home without Saka. Noni Madueke was quite good against Leeds as a late replacement in the starting lineup. Madueke’s end product, which was a bit lacking early in the season, is picking up.
Looking forward, you’d like to have Saka available for away to Brentford a week from Thursday. That one could be tricky. Then you give him the day off in the FA Cup home to Wigan so he’s ready for Tottenham in late February. That’s a tough stretch — @Tottenham, Chelsea, @Brighton. Ideally, the first XI is fit and available for all three of those matches. Achieving that starts now by resting, rotating, and not risking guys if possible.
The more time you can give him to ensure he doesn’t turn a little niggle into a persistent aggravation, the better. I know that’s not really how it works. If guys are available and ready to go, they go. But if you can be cautious with your star player, why not? Arsenal added depth for situations like this, so that players didn’t have to push through minor knocks and risk making them into bigger problems.
I’ll leave it to Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, and the medical staff to determine the best plan for recovery and return. The important part is that Bukayo’s injury isn’t a significant concern.
