The Gunners could be set to lose their star winger ahead of their trip to Goodison Park but Mikel Arteta already has an answer for it
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka continues to suffer from a recurring Achilles injury that he’s been dealing with since last season, leaving him as a major concern for the Gunners’ match this weekend against Everton.
The 22-year-old has carried over his impressive form from last season into their new campaign, finding two goals and an assist across his opening four matches.
His involvements meant he was a shoo-in for Gareth Southgate’s England squad that faced Ukraine and Scotland over the international break, but after playing 85 minutes in the 1-1 draw against the former, he was benched for the entirety of the 150th anniversary heritage match against Steve Clark’s side.
According to reports, it’s now been claimed that Saka is still suffering from the Achilles issue that has plagued him before. Manager Mikel Arteta will, of course, want to have his star player fit for their entire title chase this season and will hope Southgate’s decision to rest the winger was to let him recover for this weekend.
Having already lost summer signing Jurrien Timber to injury alongside midfield and defensive option Thomas Partey, Saka missing out for either a short or long part of the season would be a serious blow.
If the 22-year-old is set to miss out though, the Spaniard isn’t completely out of options to replace him with. Leandro Trossard, who has played just 78 minutes for the Gunners across all competitions this season, is the perfect answer.
While he only scored once in his 20 league appearances for the Gunners last season, his 10 assists proved vital in keeping the title race alive for as long as it was, leaving him only one assist behind Saka with 25 less 90 minutes Played.
He had better passing completion percentages in all but one stat than Saka last season, and had more Goal-Creating Actions per 90 (0.87) than Saka (0.79) as well.
Of course, Saka played almost 2000 more minutes than Trossard for the Gunners last year, but after seeing the goal that the Belgian international scored in their 5-0 win over Estonia earlier this week and netting at the death to allow them to win the Community Shield on penalties, he’s marked himself out as a real candidate to fill in for the England star if he’s out for a long time.
Trossard is ironically yet to have a shot on goal for Arsenal in the league this season, but could be set up for just his 11th start as a Gunner if Saka is ruled out of this weekend’s clash with Everton.
