Arsenal have struggled to get their two most creative influences – Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard – onto the pitch at the same time this season.
The talismanic duo appeared side-by-side in just 14 of the Gunners’ 31 games in all competitions, with Arsenal losing just once while the pair shared the pitch. However, they are unlikely to meet at the Emirates Stadium any time soon.
A long-term injury to Odegaard earlier this season was followed by a lengthy spell on the sidelines for Saka, with Arsenal having suffered without the latter since he entered the treatment room before Christmas.
Arsenal need their star back as soon as possible. What’s new on Saka’s injury?
Arsenal rightly feared the worst when Saka went down and then hobbled off during their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace on December 21. The winger was only able to last 24 minutes before he had to be taken out of the game with a hamstring injury and had to undergo an immediate scan to determine the severity of the problem.
Saka has proven remarkably durable in recent campaigns, particularly given the harsh treatment he so often receives from opposing defenders. This is certainly the most devastating and long-term injury of his career to date.
Saka underwent surgery for his hamstring injury shortly after the trip to Selhurst Park, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted the striker will be sidelined for at least two months following his recovery.
The Spaniard revealed back in December: “He had an operation and everything went well, but unfortunately he will be out for many, many weeks.”
“It will take more than two months. I don’t know exactly how much longer. It depends on how the scar tissue begins to heal in the first week or so and how mobile the scar tissue is. That’s very difficult to say.” “
Saka was recently spotted at Arsenal’s training ground but he is still a long way from making his comeback. The earliest we could see the 23-year-old back on the pitch is at the end of February, although a return date in March currently seems most likely.
On Saka’s recovery, Arteta recently said: “He was traveling a lot. It’s great to have him. He always has a smile on his face. He’s going through a time he didn’t know because he’d never been injured for so long.” Time.
“We discussed the things we can do together and the things he can do to use the time properly and make him a better person, to make sure he spends the time appropriately with the opportunities, that he has so that when.” He comes back, he is in the right place.
Arsenal’s No.7 has already missed five games since his hamstring injury and is likely to miss at least another ten games if he does not return until March. During this period he will be absent from a number of crucial fixtures in three different competitions.
In the Premier League he will miss the second north London derby of the season as well as clashes with reigning champions Manchester City and leaders Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. If he returns, the title race could be all but over with Liverpool in the lead.
Saka will also be watching from the sidelines as Arsenal complete their Champions League campaign. Games against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona will pass him by as the Gunners aim for automatic qualification for the last 16, while the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United will also be played without the winger.
Arsenal have been woefully toothless in recent games and this creativity vacuum has left them floundering at the start of the new year. With Gabriel Jesus also suffering a serious injury in last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United that could see him miss the rest of the season, the Gunners may need to address their attacking woes in the January transfer window.
Currently, Arsenal’s four most experienced strikers are Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and on-loan Raheem Sterling, none of whom are in particularly eye-catching form. Spending some money can be important this winter.
Arsenal have been linked with Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo and the Cameroon international, who has scored 13 goals in the Premier League this season, could be a perfect, if expensive, alternative to Saka.
Nico Williams has long been admired but the Athletic Club winger prefers to play on the left, while the Gunners missed the chance to sign their long-term target Pedro Neto in the summer when Chelsea swooped in and quickly completed a deal.