The England winger is set for a spell on the sidelines after limping off early on in Saturday's 5-1 win at Crystal Palace
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In the autumn of 2023, a tongue-in-cheek meme did the rounds in Arsenal's social media circles. It featured an iconic scene from 'Diary Of A Wimpy Kid', during which several children sing wildly out-of-key to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart', before one boy nails it and steals the show right at the end as the song leaps into the chorus.
In this instance, the scene came with the caption of 'Mikel Arteta trying to find a back-up for Bukayo Saka'. Plastered over the tone-deaf kids were the names of several Gunners wingers, including Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli. The angelic voice belonged to none other than Saka himself.
It's hard to call right wing a problem position for Arsenal considering that's where one of their biggest stars plays, though that creates the worry of trying to find a suitable deputy. Whether through internal solutions or in the transfer market, the Gunners have not been able to source someone who can take the load away from an overworked Saka, and that's an even more concerning issue.
Arsenal's chickens came home to roost on Saturday when Saka was forced off with a hamstring strain in the first half of their thumping of Crystal Palace, leaving Selhurst Park on crutches to the "worry" of Arteta. This was, however, a problem of their own making.
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportOver-reliance
During the Gunners' first title challenge under Arteta in 2022-23, the love was spread around when it came to goals. All four primary attackers – Saka, Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard – reached double-figures for goals in the Premier League, and they were the best team to watch in the entire country, playing football the Arsenal way.
Since then, Arteta has made some tweaks in the name of control and squeaking out wins more often when points may previously have looked to escape their grasp. The regression of Jesus and Martinelli since has meant Saka and Odegaard have had to bear more of the attacking load, pushing themselves to the limit.
In 2023-24, Saka was the only Arsenal player to reach double-figures for both goals and assists, tallying a combined 34 in 47 matches across all competitions. The next highest was Odegaard with 22.
The 23-year-old has already clocked up 250 senior appearances at club level, plus a further 43 for England. This was bound to take its toll eventually.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportHeavy workload
A massive reason as to why Saka is so indispensable for club and country is his style of play. In another era, he would have been the prototypical 4-4-2 winger, someone capable of stretching play but also tracking back and covering his man.
Arteta has still sought to utilise his No.7 in that old-fashioned way. His shifts on the right flank are not like those of his peers. You can depend on Saka to get stuck in, to run the hard yards to protect Ben White or Jurrien Timber or whoever else is playing at full-back. And then he will go down the other end and score a screamer, or put in a delicious cross to be swept home, or drag three opponents out of position to create space for a team-mate.
From the start of 2023-24 to the present day, Saka has sat out 22 games for Arsenal and England due to injury concerns having previously been the picture of perfect health. The miles on Saka's young body are not regular miles. You could even go as far to suggest that this layoff will do him some good as he will finally be afforded an extended period of rest.
Getty Images SportLack of effort
Arsenal have kept their powder dry when trying to find a like-for-like option who could resemble Saka. He has been their only left-footed wide man and inverted right winger since Nicolas Pepe – remember him? – left the club.
This has limited how Arteta's side can open up teams. Without a threat to come inside from that flank, the right-back has less space to make an overlapping run, nor does Odegaard have as much room for manoeuvre when he marauds over that way.
Of course, we've seldom seen what such an Arsenal system would look like because, as we've explained and must continue to stress, .
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Push has come to shove, then. Arsenal will be without Saka for some period of time and must soldier on without him. Arteta's hand has been forced and it will be intriguing to see how he plays it.
After Saka went off at Palace, Martinelli was switched over to the right and grabbed a goal for his troubles. Perhaps a switch of flank is what the Brazilian needs to rediscover his form of old having struggled so far this season. The rejuvenated Jesus is also capable of starting from the right, as is loanee Raheem Sterling, and thus opens up the possibility of the Gunners' wide men swapping wings during games now.
If Arteta wants to keep a leftie out on the right, he may have to give more minutes to teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri, who ordinarily plays in a similar position to Odegaard through the middle but can at least recreate the conditions Saka gave the attack with his willingness to switch onto his stronger foot.
