Arsenal have been hit by a fresh injury blow with talisman Bukayo Saka set to be sidelined for a longer period of time than initially expected
Arsenal‘s Bukayo Saka is set to be out of action for another eight weeks, adding to the Gunners’ injury woes after they failed to sign a forward in the January transfer window.
Saka, 23, ripped his right hamstring during Arsenal’s 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace on December 21. The England star has been off the pitch since then and during his prolonged absence, two of his fellow Arsenal forwards have been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Gabriel Jesus sustained an ACL injury last month, a setback that will likely sideline him for most of 2025. After a mid-season warm-weather training trip to Dubai, it was revealed top scorer Kai Havertz will also miss the rest of the season following hamstring surgery.
Gabriel Martinelli is also expected to be out for about a month after getting injured against Newcastle. And now The Mirror reports Saka’s return could be delayed until mid-April, longer than initially expected.
This leaves Mikel Arteta without four of his forwards, with only Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and young Ethan Nwaneri available for Saturday’s match against Leicester, as the try to gain ground on Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Despite their injury crisis, Arsenal chose not to sign a forward in the winter transfer window, although it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Arteta confirmed earlier this month that the Gunners did attempt to bring in a new player but were left ‘disappointed’.
Arsenal boss Arteta has expressed his clear intentions to bolster the squad, as the team trails seven points behind Liverpool. Speaking to journalists, he said: “We had a clear intention which is obvious. There is a window open to explore the possibilities to improve our squad with players that can impact it.
“We haven’t achieved it. So we are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring certain kind of players. We have to be very disciplined with that as well and I think we were.”
Arteta chose not to delve too deeply into specifics, stating: “I wouldn’t like to go into too much detail. We couldn’t do it for certain reasons and we have to accept it, that’s it. It was a combination of things.”
When quizzed on whether the Gunners’ restraint in the January transfer window might influence their summer strategy, Arteta responded: “What I mean about that is in everything, in the kind of profile, in the kind of player that we believe can really make us much better.
“Financially. In a lot of ways, there are a lot of things that we must stay in the lane that has taken us this far and from there, try to improve.”