Hello, this is a simple Christmas Eve blog for you.
The only place to start is with the news that Bukayo Saka will miss ‘several weeks’, according to Mikel Arteta, after tearing his hamstring in Saturday evening’s game against Crystal Palace. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the manager spoke about how the player himself has been affected:
He was devastated. You can tell he wasn’t injured because he was really emotional. He’s really depressed and we need to get him up. Because that’s part of what we do. It’s part of what he does. It’s part of his job, a big part of his job. He will be fine, but I think he will need a few days.
It’s hard to pinpoint an exact time frame, I’ve seen reports of up to 8 weeks and even 3 months, but we’ll have to wait and see. What is clear right now is that we will have to cope without him and Raheem Sterling, who has a knee injury, for some time. It will be a challenge and Arteta said this when asked how he intends to reorganize his Arsenal team without key players.
I’m putting together some ideas. I haven’t been there yet, but there are a few. Then I want to talk to them and understand how we can create it and receive it in a positive way.
Gabby played there, Ethan played there, and Leo could play there depending on how that unit moves. Kai can play there and ask him various questions. So we’ll try to talk to them and understand how they feel about it.
We have to look internally at what we have, be creative and get back to very good training. How do I build my squad? How can we adapt to situations and be different? We can’t pretend to be the same. We have to be different, try to find the best way, be competitive and win a lot of games.
It is understandable that he has made it clear that his priority is to get as much as possible from the players he has, as these are the players he has to work with at the moment. It’s understandable that there were questions about the January transfer window, as Arteta said.
You are ready. If anything happens, we are ready. Obviously, we did not foresee Bukayo and Rahim’s situation at the same time. For example, if something happens on the defensive line, I predicted it more. But the job is done. Okay then. If something happens, I will open the door. But the main focus now is how to try and extract the potential that is in this squad.
January may depend on who has access and where. We can buy who we like but we can’t loan other players from Premier League clubs. Because Neto and Sterling have limitations in filling those two positions. However, it is possible to loan players from outside the Premier League (thanks James!). So that might be an option, and if it’s something we’re exploring, hopefully we can find a deal closer to Martin Odegaard than Denis Suarez.
The wider debate over Saka and how much he has played for Arsenal is likely to continue, with some feeling he has played too much and this injury is a result of that. I can’t say I’ve ever had concerns about how much minutes he’s accumulated since his breakthrough, but the reality is that the best players play all the time. That’s the way football is played. Saka is one of the best players in the world right now. He gives you a better chance to win the game and whether it’s Arteta or someone else, he’ll keep performing. Especially when you lose too often. Best margin.
I also think the quality of Saka complicates the idea of getting a backup to share minutes. Realistically, who will sit on the bench for most of the season? The answer is players who aren’t good enough to play at the required level. Our de facto back-up this season is Sterling, and while we’re leaving one of our best players out of the starting XI, he doesn’t seem to be convincing anyone that he should start the game. I understand why people want to offload Saka, but I don’t think we can pretend it’s as simple as using Saka-Lite.
But what is now clear is that Arteta must explore options and ways to cope. I quite like the idea of Martinelli, but I don’t think he will be in every game. So we may see Jesus, we may see Nwaneri or Trossard, and those decisions will have knock-on effects elsewhere. With all our attacking options, this will be a huge challenge as Saka has been the most consistent for a long time. Others will have to step up, so I hope they can.
Lastly, we hope that Saka’s recovery and rehabilitation progresses without complications and in the fastest possible schedule. It will be tough for him to be out for so long, but I hope the cliché about him coming back stronger applies to him when we see him again.
Okay, I’ll leave it there for today. So to speak, tomorrow is obviously a day off. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and we wish you all peace, love, health, and happiness during the holiday season. Stay with family and friends, take care of each other, and talk again later.
❤️
