Bukayo Saka Injury Concerns for Arsenal as Arteta Awaits MRI Results
Mikel Arteta is braced for bad news on Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal star limped out of the Champions League draw with Bayern Munich – and the early signs are grim.
The winger lasted only a few minutes of Wednesday night’s 2-2 thriller at the Allianz Arena. No crunching tackle, no dramatic collision. Saka simply played a pass out wide, went down under no real pressure and immediately signalled that he could not continue.
Arteta did not sugar-coat it afterwards, admitting the injury “doesn’t look good at all”.
By the time Saka left the stadium he was at least walking unaided, no crutches in sight, but the limp told its own story. Arsenal sent him for scans on Thursday, yet the picture remains blurred.
“He's got another MRI this afternoon because he had quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury,” Arteta explained at his pre-Everton press conference on Friday. “We will know more tomorrow.
“We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists. When a player is struggling to walk without any pain, he's restricted in movement, they are not good signs. Let's be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive assessment.”
For Arsenal, patience will be tested. So will depth.
A brutal blow to Arsenal’s attacking core
Saka has become the heartbeat of this side. The numbers underline it. Since the 2020/21 season, Arsenal’s Premier League win rate stands at 64.2 per cent when he plays. Without him, it drops to 53.3 per cent. That is not a marginal difference; it is the gap between title pace and vulnerability.
This is not a squad flush with wide options either. Christos Tzolis remains sidelined, and the club moved on from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the summer. Arteta has deliberately trimmed and reshaped his group. Now that calculation faces a harsh examination.
Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are set to shoulder far more responsibility in the coming weeks. Both have the talent to change games, both now lose the luxury of easing into roles. Behind them, Max Dowman may find doors opening sooner than expected, with minutes up for grabs if Saka’s absence stretches beyond the short term.
The timing could hardly be more awkward: a demanding domestic schedule, European nights, and a title race that punishes any stutter.
Hincapie returns to bolster the back line
There is, at least, one shaft of light for Arteta before Everton’s visit to the Emirates on Saturday. Piero Hincapie is back.
The defender has missed the last three matches after suffering an ankle injury on the Emirates pitch during a training session held immediately after the win over Leeds last month. A freak moment, an unnecessary complication at a time when the back line already felt stretched.
Hincapie stepped up his recovery earlier this week, returning to the grass and working through individual drills on Tuesday. He came through training again on Friday and will be available at the weekend, giving Arteta another option in a defensive unit that has had to improvise too often.
The Ecuadorian’s return offers balance and aggression from the back, qualities Arsenal have missed. It will not mask the concern around Saka, but it does at least strengthen the foundation behind a reconfigured attack.
Tzolis close, Saliba edging forward
The Everton game arrives just a fraction too early for Tzolis. The winger is still working his way back from a hamstring injury picked up on international duty with Greece earlier this month. He is understood to be close, though, and his return cannot come soon enough with Saka facing an anxious wait.
William Saliba is on a longer road. The centre-back has not played at all this season after a serious back injury suffered at the World Cup. His absence has been one of the quiet subplots of Arsenal’s campaign, a world-class defender stuck in rehab while the season races on.
Arteta confirmed Saliba is making good progress, but he is not yet in contention. Arsenal will not gamble with a player so central to their long-term plans.
So the picture is mixed. A key defender back, another edging closer, a marquee winger nearing fitness — and the team’s talisman waiting on a second MRI that could reshape Arsenal’s next few months.
The scans will tell the story. The question is whether Arsenal’s season bends with them.
