Coach Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) has additional concerns when Bukayo Saka’s ability to play in what promises to be a difficult match against Everton is left open, due to a lingering Achilles injury.
Difficulties plague Arsenal before their trip to face tough opponent Everton this weekend, in round 5 of the 2023/24 Premier League. After 4 rounds, Arsenal temporarily ranked 5th on the rankings with 10 points. A victory against Everton is of course the wish of coach Mikel Arteta and his students at Arsenal.
The only thing is, the Spanish teacher is now having a headache in solving the problem of personnel shortage, with the list of wounded soldiers expanding with names like Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber, and Mohamed Elneny… According to the newspaper In the recent issue of Daily Mail, coach Arteta continued to frown when winger Bukayo Saka was said to still not have recovered from the Achilles heel he suffered from last season. Saka recently only came on as a substitute in England’s 3-1 victory over Scotland in the recent friendly match series. Even more remarkable is the news that the reason why England coach Gareth Southgate let Saka sit on the bench for most of the time in the friendly match with Scotland was due to an Achilles heel problem.
It is not out of place to recall that Saka had an Achilles heel problem at the end of last season. Coach Arteta had hoped that a summer of rest without football would help Saka fully recover, but the actual situation was the opposite. Possessing speed, technique and strong mobility, Saka has established himself as one of the best wingers in Europe over the past few years. Saka indeed brought absolute trust to coach Arteta when assigned to manage Arsenal’s right-wing corridor.
Statistics show that the Spanish coach used Saka in 48 matches, including every match in the Premier League last season. Along with that, Saka has made his mark in 25 goals, including 14 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League 2022/23. That’s why, even though he’s only 22 years old, Saka is already one of Arsenal’s most important players. It is also important to know that Saka scored 2 goals in 4 matches for Arsenal this season.
That’s enough to see that concerns about Saka’s fitness are causing more headaches for coach Arteta. For now, let’s wait and see if coach Arteta risks using Saka on Everton’s away trip this weekend or not.