Mikel Arteta Says Bukayo Saka Injury ‘Doesn’t Look Good At All’

• Mikel Arteta said Bukayo Saka’s quad injury “doesn’t look good at all” after the winger went off in the 10th minute of Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich.
• Saka was reported to be due a scan on Thursday, and Arteta is expected to give more detail at his Friday press conference before Saturday’s game against Everton.
• Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and 16-year-old Max Dowman are the options to cover the right side of the attack.

A Sharp Pain Ends Saka’s Night at the Allianz Arena

Mikel Arteta did not soften the news. Bukayo Saka limped out of Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich inside 10 minutes, and the manager’s verdict afterwards was blunt: the quad injury “doesn’t look good at all”. Arteta said his medical staff were “concerned”, and Arsenal now wait on the result of a scan with Everton due at the Emirates on Saturday.

The moment itself was quiet. Saka wriggled away from Alphonso Davies and played a pass out wide, under no real pressure according to the Evening Standard, then went down clutching his left leg and signalled to the bench. Eze replaced him and went on to open the scoring for the Gunners. Before heading down the tunnel, Saka stopped to speak with Arteta and looked extremely uncomfortable, the Standard reported.

“We lost Bukayo, who actually was having a great game,” Arteta said. “They are a bit concerned. A player that has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news but we have to wait and see.”

Saka was pictured limping out of the Allianz Arena, spotted by Sun reporter Simon Collings. One small positive for Arsenal supporters: the 25-year-old did not need crutches, which was the case in December 2024 when he was forced off against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Arteta is expected to say more on Friday, though Saka looks a major doubt for the Everton game.

How Big a Miss Is Saka?

Arsenal have a record to show how much they lean on him. In Premier League games Saka has started, going back to his emergence as a regular in 2020/21, they have won 64.2 per cent of matches, against 53.3 per cent in the games he has not. Last season the gap was wider: 76 per cent with him in the starting line-up and 53.8 per cent without, according to Sky Sports. The team also average more shots and goals per game when he starts.

Fitness has been the problem lately. Saka was almost always available between 2020/21 and 2023/24, but hamstring, Achilles and hip issues have followed. His form had also drawn scrutiny, with below-par showings in the league wins over Nottingham Forest and Leeds. Yet he came off the bench against Lille last week to set up Eze with his first touch and score, and he is Arsenal’s leading Premier League scorer this season with three goals. He also tops the club’s players for shots, touches in the opposition box and expected goals, and Gradient Sports grade him as the best-performing player in the league for execution, ahead of Elliot Anderson.

Madueke, Eze or the Teenager?

Madueke is the obvious replacement. The 24-year-old switched to the right against Bayern, his natural side, and played a part in Declan Rice’s equaliser with a first-time pass to Viktor Gyokeres. He scored the winner off the bench against Forest and impressed from the left in place of Christos Tzolis, who remains injured. Sky Sports pointed out his weak spot too: against Lille he put 14 crosses to no effect before assisting Jurrien Timber’s opener. Arteta values the volume of what he does. “When you talk about players being ‘clinical’, sometimes that means scoring five in every 100,” the Arsenal boss said after the Lille game. “It’s about generating volume, more actions and getting him into the good positions.”

Eze is the other route, though Arteta might want him on the left, where he earned praise. “I thought Ebs had a great game, not just the goal but his actions, overall performance and without the ball as well,” said Arteta.

Then there is Max Dowman. The 16-year-old became Arsenal’s youngest starter at 15 years and 302 days in the Carabao Cup last October, and the Premier League’s youngest scorer at 16 years and 73 days against Everton in March. In September he scored twice against Ipswich in the Carabao Cup, joining Wayne Rooney as one of only two 16-year-olds to score twice in a game for a Premier League side. Arteta has been careful with him, and Dowman has played only nine Premier League minutes so far. “Max will have his chance,” Arteta said last month. “He will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else.”

The Fixtures Are Coming Quickly

Arsenal go to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday 27 October, then to Liverpool on Sunday 1 November and Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday 4 November. Everton, the visitors on Saturday, know what Dowman can do after he scored against them in March. The attack was already light after Arsenal missed out on Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez in the summer, and the Standard noted that Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus all left the club. A Saka lay-off would hurt, though it could hand a teenager the minutes he has been waiting for.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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