Arteta says the signs are not good as Saka awaits an MRI, and Max Dowman may get his chance.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka will definitely miss Saturday's Premier League game against Everton, and the club fear he could be out for up to six weeks. He limped off early in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, and was due an MRI scan on Friday afternoon.
Straight after the game, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was "concerned" and that the injury "doesn't look good at all". He has since urged patience while the medical team works out how serious it is. "He's got quite a lot of fluid in the area, so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury, but we will probably know more tomorrow," Arteta said. He added that when a player has to walk off the pitch, "they are not good signs."
It is understood that Arsenal fear it could be a grade-two tear, one that could keep Saka out for up to six weeks. A BBC report by Sami Mokbel says the club fear the forward could be out for two months. The BBC report adds that club medics, after early examinations, estimate he will miss a minimum of six weeks, and that the absence could be even longer.
Asked whether Saka is still robust enough to start every match, Arteta pointed to the schedule:
"The demands that we are putting on every player are immense."
Arteta said he has been trying to ease Saka's workload as a result of a run of injuries. Saka has had 11 different injuries since September 2023, and he missed a large part of last season with hamstring, hip and Achilles tendon problems. Arteta said the club must now work out how to manage him: "We really need to understand, whenever he comes back, how we are going to manage his load, what he is capable of to sustain having an impact in the team."
The numbers show how much Arsenal rely on him. They have won 64.2 per cent of the Premier League games Saka has started since he became a regular in 2020/21, against 53.3 per cent of those he has not started. He is the club's leading Premier League scorer this season, with three goals.
That leaves room for Max Dowman. The 16-year-old became the Premier League's youngest goalscorer in March, when he scored against Everton aged 16 years and 73 days, but he has played only nine Premier League minutes this season. Arteta said last month: "Max will have his chance." He added: "He will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else."
Arsenal's next game after Everton is a Carabao Cup tie at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, 27 October. Sky Sports says the Fleetwood and Slavia Prague games could offer Dowman chances too.
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