Arsenal injury fears grow as Carsley confirms winger ‘felt something’, while forward omitted from squad

Aadam Haladh
Saka England
Saka was in need of treatment for England.

Arsenal’s injury list may have just got longer during the international break while Mikel Arteta is already missing his captain Martin Odegaard.

Odegaard has missed seven games so far this season as he continues to nurse a sore ankle, and Arteta will be hoping potential injuries during the international break to fellow attackers Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz are nothing serious.

Saka was substituted for Chelsea’s Noni Madueke early into the second half of England’s Nations League defeat to Greece on Thursday night as he appeared to leave the field with an issue to his hamstring.

Saka was later seen to be limping through the mixed zone at Wembley which could rule him out of England’s clash against Finland on Sunday.

Saka has been an important player for both club and country this season, and was named England Player of the Year last year, an award won by Cole Palmer earlier in the week for 2024. Saka finished third in the run in for the prize this time around.

MORE ON ARSENAL FROM F365
👉 The Famous F365 Friday Quiz: Identify the random 2000s Premier League footballer…
👉 Arsenal dark arts clear with international duty withdrawals but Manchester United lead way in October
👉 Ten Premier League managers who outstayed their welcome includes Ten Hag and Wenger

Post-match, England interim boss Lee Carsley confirmed he had taken Saka off due to an injury. He said: “He’s been assessed. In the build up to the goal, he felt something in his leg.”

Arteta would much rather prefer to have his trusted man with him for the trip to Bournemouth a week on Saturday, though the wide positions are one that the Gunners possess strength in depth in through Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and loanee Raheem Sterling.

As for Havertz, the German FA announced his omission from the squad for their games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee problem.

Havertz has become an important member of the Arsenal squad, having scored six goals in all competitions so far this season.

His goal against Southampton before the international break was his seventh consecutive goal at the Emirates, becoming only the second player to achieve that feat since Robin van Persie in the 2011/12 season.

Saka’s qualities have been known since making his debut for his boyhood club, though Havertz has enjoyed quite the renaissance in north London after widely being dubbed as a ‘waste of money’ when Chelsea decided to splash north of £70m on him in 2020.

Arteta has identified Havertz as a central striker where he has played his best football so far, after operating in a number of different positions in his time at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal Bukayo Saka

Related Articles