Arteta provides update on Saka’s injury

Mikel Arteta said more time is needed to determine the severity of the injury Bukayo Saka sustained in our Champions League draw at Bayern Munich.

Our winger came off after 10 minutes at the Allianz Arena after picking up a muscle injury while playing a pass, and Mikel said after the match that it was “really bad news.”

But after returning to England, Mikel has provided an update: Bukayo needs further assessment but will miss our game against Everton on Saturday.

“He’s got another MRI this afternoon because he had a lot of fluid,” Mikel said. “We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists. Let’s be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive answer.

“We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialist. Obviously when a player has to walk off the pitch, he’s struggling to walk without any pain, he’s restricted to movement, they are not good signs. So again, let’s be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive assessment and then let you know.”

When pressed on whether injuries are beginning to affect Bukayo’s playing style, the boss added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s been muscles, it’s been tendons as well which is something else. That’s not just with Bukayo, with many other players as well. We discussed that last year and that’s why we need to keep an eye on him.

But while he recuperates, Mikel wants one of our leaders to keep contributing to the squad by using his presence to keep the rest of the squad motivated and focused on future matches.

“I already told him to go to the [training ground] and be the first one there with a good spirit and energy because that’s what the team needs. If everybody’s like: ‘Bukayo, how are you? Are you sick? Are you OK?’, that’s exactly what we don’t need.

“If this is what it is, this is part of our job, to have some nice and bad results, a defeat or a problem, we need to deal with that. We cannot change that now. What we certainly can do is dominate the narrative from here to the Everton game together, with the best energy and the spirit to go and win the game.”