Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka has been forced out of international duty after suffering a minor muscle injury, meaning he will miss high-profile fixtures against Brazil and Belgium but, how will this affect his sides title hopes?
The 22-year-old’s return for Arsenal’s title clash with Manchester City, on the 31st of May, is not confirmed yet due to still being in rehabilitation causing panic for Mikel Arteta upfront.
This panic sparked when Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli suffered a foot injury two weeks ago and now with another key attacker out, Arsenal’s attacking artillery is looking weak.
Between the two of them, they have accumulated 31 goals and assists in the Premier League so far this season with Saka recording 21 of these, indicating he is their main source of threat in attack.
Arsenal have a couple of tricky fixtures to come, in the City clash but also in Europe too as they face German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
So, how big will the Englishman’s absence be to the Gunners?
Obviously, Saka’s statistics show he is one of the best in his role in the league but, it is his style of play that his teammates bounce off of.
Saka has a creative ability of getting into dangerous positions and playing killer final balls allowing his teammates to get into great scoring positions.
He thrives when he has the freedom to move infield and into a deeper position where he can receive the ball and then create for his attacking partners.
The ability he has rapidly receive the ball on a half-turn is testament to how he can then carry the ball up into a dangerous area, which is a quality his replacements Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson lack incredibly.
Therefore, his absence will be huge to Arteta, who may have to utilise his attackers in a different format and possibly deploy Kai Havertz as a false-nine in order to plaster over the loss of Saka’s deep playmaking.
This was a role he took up in Chelsea colours, but failed to thrive in it.
Yet, he has shown this campaign he is seasoned with quality, with eight goals and three assists to his name, indicating he could be the one to fill the void of Arsenal’s marquee wingman.
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