In a bid to end the Premier League title hiatus, Arsenal faced a major setback as star winger Bukayo Saka has been ruled out for “many weeks” with a hamstring injury, according to manager Mikel Arteta.
Saka limped off the field in the 23rd minute against Crystal Palace last Saturday. Even though Arsenal left Selhurst Park with a 5-1 win, the victory was marred by Saka leaving the stadium on crutches.
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka will face a spell on the sidelines pic.twitter.com/xFMaNq0ZR0
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 23, 2024
“It’s not looking good. He’s going to be out for many weeks. I cannot be too specific because I do not know, but it’s going to be many weeks. You have to see the impact he has on this team, but it will be a good exercise for all of us to overcome another challenge because we’ve had a lot in the season,” Arteta said in a press conference on Monday, as quoted from Sky Sports.
The recent setback is not the first for Saka in the season. While representing England in October, he limped off the field and missed Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth. Saka is not the only concern for Arsenal. Raheem Sterling, on loan from Chelsea, also remains out of action.
He sustained an injury last week on Friday during a training session.
Ahead of the upcoming fixtures, the Spanish manager confirmed Sterling will be on the sidelines for weeks with a knee issue. “He’s going to be out for weeks, I believe. He needs some further testing. It’s his knee, we will have to see in 24 hours,” he added.
With Arsenal down to wingers, there are chances Arsenal could load another in the upcoming January transfer window. Arteta addressed the possibility and said, “We’ll have to look internally at what we have and be creative.
Do a very good exercise again, how can we mould the squad and adapt to the circumstances? And be different. We cannot pretend to be the same. We have to be different and find the best way to do it, be competitive and win a lot of games.” “My intention right now is within the team and what we have, get the best out of that. What is outside is not in my control,” he added.
