Evening Standard
·16 September 2024
Evening Standard
·16 September 2024
England winger limped off late in the Gunners’ north London derby win over Tottenham
Arsenal are confident that Bukayo Saka will be fit for their trips to Atalanta and Manchester City this week after the winger limped out of the north London derby against Tottenham.
Saka was forced to come off during the final minutes of Sunday’s game as the Gunners saw out a valuable 1-0 victory following Gabriel’s second-half header.
The England star is understood to have been suffering with cramps and as such it is hoped he will make a full recovery this week.
That will be a huge relief for Mikel Arteta as Arsenal had to battle a number of fitness concerns going into the win at Tottenham.
Kieran Tierney (hamstring), Mikel Merino (shoulder) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are currently all out injured. Martin Odegaard (ankle), Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori (both calf) also missed the game at Spurs and it remains to be seen if they can return this week.
Odegaard injured his ankle while on international duty with Norway last week and underwent multiple scans. Arteta was tight-lipped on his progress when asked to give an update on Sunday.
“Regarding Martin, we still have to wait and see the news,” he said. “He certainly wasn’t available to play today.”
Injury concern: Bukayo Saka was forced off during the late stages of Arsenal’s win over Tottenham
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal are due to train in front of the media on Wednesday morning and Arteta will speak to the press that evening before the Gunners’ Champions League opener against Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday night. An update on Odegaard should be provided then.
Calafiori, who hurt his calf playing for Italy during the international break, watched his team-mates in action at Spurs on Sunday and visited them in the dressing room afterwards.