Alex McCurthy
Bukayo Saka suffered no serious damage, but captain Martin Odegaard remains unavailable.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka is on the road to recovery after suffering a minor injury during England’s loss to Greece last week. Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka did not feature in the win over Finland on Sunday but it turns out it’s not serious. According to reports, 23-year-old Bukayo Saka is on the way to recovery and may make it in the coming days for selection for Arsenal.
However, their captain, Martin Odegaard, will not be available for Saturday’s game as Arsenal confront Bournemouth in the Premier League. He had an ankle ligament injury and was unavailable for action in September’s international break. The midfielder misses Odegaard badly.
Arsenal is facing injury issues as several of their first players, such as Odegaard, are currently out of action. Forwards Kai Havertz is likely to play in the match against Bournemouth after he pulled out of the German squad with minor issues. Defenders Ben White, Jurrien Timber, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are closer to being back to full fitness.
Arsenal, who, after the last two seasons, are in the second position to last season’s champion Manchester City, still sit unbeaten after seven games and a point behind charge leaders Liverpool. On Saturday, they look to continue that form when hosting Bournemouth.
Arteta expressed optimism about Saka and Havertz’s recovery but indicated that he would need to assess whether Gabriel Martinelli is ready to take the risk after returning from Brazil on Thursday. He also gave an update on the fitness of White, Timber and Zinchenko, remarking: “I hope we hear good news that they will be available on Saturday for the game.”
