London, April 2 (IANS) There was good and bad news for Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta just a week away from his side’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg at home to Real Madrid. The good news was the return of England winger Bukayo Saka after suffering a hamstring injury in December last year. The 23-year-old came on as a 66th-minute substitute in Tuesday’s 2-1 win at home to Fulham and needed just seven minutes before netting Arsenal’s second goal of the night.
Saka’s importance to Arsenal cannot be underestimated, with the stats showing that in the 16 Premier League games before his injury, Arsenal averaged 2.1 goals every game, while that average dropped sharply to just 1.5 per match since, reports Xinhua.
Arteta described Saka’s goal as a “beautiful moment,” adding that it was easy to see “how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo.”
However, Arteta’s team is without Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori, who are both suffering from knee injuries picked up over the last few days.
The coach then saw central defender Gabriel forced off with a hamstring problem in the first half, before Jurrien Timber limped off with another knee problem in the second half.
“Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien, and Gabriel Magalhaes – you can imagine how I feel losing those four players in the defensive line in one week,” lamented Arteta after the game.
With Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo ready to visit the Emirates Stadium in a week in arguably Arsenal’s biggest game of the season, it’s not hard to imagine Arteta’s frustration, even though he insists he has “four more players to come in and do a good job.”
–IANS
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