Injury fears grow at Arsenal as Carsley confirms winger ‘felt something in his leg’ while striker was not in squad

Arsenal’s injury list may have only grown during the international break, with Mikel Arteta already missing his captain Martin Odegaard.

Odegaard has missed seven games so far this season as he continues to suffer from a sore ankle. Arteta hopes that the possible injuries during the international break to fellow strikers Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz are nothing serious.

Saka was substituted for Chelsea’s Noni Madueke early in the second half of England’s Nations League defeat to Greece on Thursday evening as he appeared to leave the field with a hamstring problem.

Saka was later seen limping through the mixed zone at Wembley, which could rule him out of England’s match against Finland on Sunday.

Bukayo Saka limped slightly after England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece. pic.twitter.com/VpkpcLHFXH

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) October 10, 2024

Saka has been a key player for both club and country this season and was named England Player of the Year last year, an award that Cole Palmer won for 2024 earlier this week. This time Saka finished third in the battle for the prize. all around.

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After the match, England interim boss Lee Carsley confirmed he had ruled out Saka due to injury. He said: “He has been assessed. In the run-up to the goal he felt something in his leg.”

Arteta would much rather have his trusted man joining him for the trip to Bournemouth a week on Saturday, although the wide positions are one in which the Gunners possess depth in depth through Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and loanee Raheem Sterling.

As for Havertz, the German FA announced his omission from the squad for their matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee problem.

Havertz has become an important member of the Arsenal team, who have scored six goals in all competitions so far this season.

His goal against Southampton before the international break was his seventh consecutive goal at the Emirates, making him only the second player to achieve the feat since Robin van Persie in the 2011/12 season.

Saka’s qualities have been known since he made his debut for his boyhood club, although Havertz has enjoyed quite a renaissance in north London after being widely portrayed as a ‘waste of money’ when Chelsea decided to splash more than £70m on him in 2020.

Arteta has identified Havertz as a central striker, where he has played his best football to date, having played in a number of different positions during his time at Stamford Bridge.