Mikel Arteta got the better of his North London rival Ange Postecoglou last time out in the Premier League, as Bukayo Saka crossed for Gabriel Magalhaes to head home the only goal of the game.
The Englishman now has four assists and one goal to his name in just four appearances.
However, he appeared to suffer a bit of an injury against Spurs last time out, which many have said was just a cramp and a precaution, but nothing is concrete.
To be fair to him, it’s not a surprise that there’s a build-up of cramp as he played a big part for England during the international break, with the overload of minutes now starting to take its toll.
Interestingly, the Arsenal winger has been speaking out recently about some of the club’s summer transfer window business.
Bukayo Saka is already missing three former Arsenal teammates
Eddie Nketiah secured a move to Crystal Palace towards the end of the summer transfer window and Aaron Ramsdale move down to Southampton, while Emile Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson joined Fulham.
All four players weren’t getting the desired game time at the Emirates, which forced all four players to go out and seek regular minutes elsewhere.
When speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast, Bukayo Saka spoke out about the summer transfer window, naming Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson as three players that he misses.
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I’ve missed them a bit you know. Since I came into the first team they were kind of like my big brothers with the way they welcome me and stuff like that.
“So yeah, it wasn’t easy to see them all go, but at the same time, I’m really happy for them because they’re three top, top players with so much quality.”
Bukayo Saka’s stats for the 2024-2025 season so far
As mentioned above, Bukayo Saka has taken on more of a creative role this season, with four assists in as many games.
The only worry for Mikel Arteta will be the workload of the Englishman with the Carabao Cup and the Champions League on the horizon.
Ethan Nwaneri enjoyed some minutes in Martin Odegaard’s absence against Spurs, but perhaps it’s time for the Spaniard to put a little bit more faith in the youngster by using him as a back-up to Saka.
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