Saka facing up to six week absence as Arteta admits durability concern

Bukayo Saka could be sidelined for as long as six weeks after suffering what Arsenal fear may be a grade two thigh tear, and Mikel Arteta has openly questioned how the club need to manage the forward's workload going forward.

Saka limped off during the 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League, falling to the ground holding his left leg immediately after playing a pass. He is set for an MRI scan to determine the full extent of the damage. Arteta revealed there was "quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury" in the immediate aftermath, as reported by the Guardian. Saka will definitely miss Saturday's visit of Everton, and it is understood Arsenal are braced for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

This is far from an isolated incident. Saka missed a large chunk of last season through hamstring, hip and achilles tendon problems, and was also sidelined by a separate hamstring issue in 2024-25. In total, he has suffered 11 different injuries since September 2023, a run that has clearly worried Arteta enough to start managing his minutes more carefully, including leaving him out of the starting lineup against Lille last week.

Arteta on the toll of the fixture list

Asked directly whether Saka remains robust enough to start every match, Arteta did not dodge the question. "It's certainly been different in the last year or so," he said. "The demands that we are putting on every player are immense. The amount of games, the intensity of those matches, the international competitions, the times as well between games are getting narrower."

He pointed to the recent run of fixtures as a clear example of the problem. "Bukayo against Lille didn't start the game because we knew what was happening. We have to play three times in less than six days," Arteta explained. "The necessity is to win every game, so we know that. So we are preparing the players for those scenarios and we do the best that we possibly can."

It is a stark contrast to Saka's early career durability. Between 2021 and 2024 he missed just three Premier League matches in three seasons and set an Arsenal club record with 83 consecutive top flight appearances. He is now closing in on 300 appearances for the club he joined as a seven year old, and was handed a lucrative new contract in February that made him one of the highest paid players in Arsenal's history.

Arteta rejected any suggestion that burnout, stemming from a debut made just three months after his 17th birthday, was behind the recent spate of issues. "I don't have that feeling at all but something we have to be very mindful of is to create the right ecosystem around the player to fulfil his qualities," he said. "We really need to understand, whenever he comes back, how we are going to manage his load, what he is capable of to sustain having an impact in the team."

Dowman set for opportunity

Saka's absence opens the door for 16 year old Max Dowman against Everton. Dowman has featured for just nine minutes in the league this season but became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history against the same opponent back in March. "He's training and every time he's got a moment to play, he's showing that he's a player that is going to impact the game," Arteta said. "For sure he's going to have minutes."

Results of Saka's scan are awaited, with Arsenal set to provide further clarity on a timeline once the full picture emerges.