Mikel Arteta offers support to Saka amidst injury concerns after Arsenal's Champions League victory
By Ovaise Shariff | First Published Nov 9, 2023, 4:26 PM ISTIn the wake of Arsenal's impressive 2-0 victory over Sevilla in the Champions League, manager Mikel Arteta addresses concerns surrounding Bukayo Saka's recent injury.
Mikel Arteta acknowledged that Bukayo Saka needs to acclimate to facing challenges in matches due to the attention he draws from opponents. The 22-year-old played a key role in Arsenal's 2-0 victory against Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday, securing their lead in Group B with nine points, four ahead of PSV Eindhoven and Lens.
"He had some discomfort but, hopefully, I'm going to assume he's going to be OK" 🗣️
Mikel Arteta plays down Bukayo Saka injury fears after the midfielder limped off during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Sevilla 🚨 pic.twitter.com/SIjteUzO5Z
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for Arsenal in the first half, turning home from close range after Saka had ghosted in behind Kike Salas, before Gabriel Martinelli's through ball set Saka free to advance into Sevilla's penalty area. The Ealing-born winger then jinked inside Nemanja Gudelj and he coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner. However, towards the end of the game after Saka appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle - an incident that eventually led to his early withdrawal at the Emirates Stadium.
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Arteta was keen to play down the severity of the knock after the game, but did say that Saka will need to continue getting used to receiving kicks at the highest level.
"It was just a kick," he said. "I was told by the physios that he wasn't happy to continue. He had some discomfort but, hopefully, I'm going to assume he's going to be OK."
"There is contact in football," Arteta continued, with Saka on the receiving end of five fouls during his time on the pitch. "For the wingers that want to take people on especially. At the end he was uncomfortable to carry on so hopefully it's not big but I'm really happy with his performance."
He added on how Saka is coping with regular kicks: "He's getting used to it! That's not going to change with the way he attracts players."
Saka wasn't the only Arsenal player to provide Arteta with an injury headache - left-back for the night, Takehiro Tomiyasu, was forced off at half-time and replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko.
On whether the Japanese international had encountered a significant issue, Arteta hinted his exit after 45 minutes was nothing more than precautionary: "He had some discomfort in the first half and we didn’t want to take any risks because he’s played a lot of minutes. Obviously with Alex on the bench ready to come in I think it was the right decision."
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