At the time of writing, the fear is that Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury could be a serious one.
Tuesday night was the 3rd time in 3 games that Saka had hobbled off injured. However this was the first time he went off due to a muscle injury rather than a knock.
The negative amongst you will blame Mikel Arteta for overplaying Saka, and say that he should be rested more often. But as Arteta has said previously, world class players play 50 games a season.
Medical advances mean that clubs now have more data than ever one players fitness and could almost predict when muscle fatigue is close to cause a strain. When fatigue has set in, Arsene Wenger used to say they were entering the ‘Red Zone‘.
Every players red zone is different. If Saka was entering his, he would not have played on Tuesday. It was just one of those things.
So assuming that Saka is out this Sunday, who can replace him?
Fabio Vieira
When Saka hobbled off in France, Fabio Vieira came on.
The Portuguese midfield has looked good in his cameos this season, but his best performances have come on the left wing or more central.
Whilst he is a “like for like” replacement for Saka in terms of being left footed, he is not a natural winger.
He does not have the pace to ping back a full back and never looks to go on the outside.
Playing on the right he becomes predictable, looking to cut inside as soon as he receives the ball. This narrows the pitch and eats into Martin Odegaard’s space. It also slows down our progression up the pitch.
Lovely player, but I do not think the right wing suits him.
Kai Havertz
When we signed Kai Havertz, I spoke about how he gave Arteta 6 tactical options. One of these was as cover for Saka on the right wing.
Rumours are Thomas Partey could be fit to start on Sunday. Or at least play an hour. This could see Arteta push Declan Rice into a more attacking role and allow Havertz to be utilised out wide.
Havertz has played over 50 times on the right hand side, scoring 18 and assisting 11 as a right winger.
It is certainly a position he has played, but you do have to go back to 2019 for the last time he started on the right consistently. Considering the pressure he is under and his underwhelming performances in an Arsenal shirt thus far, a positional change might not be a good idea.
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus returned to the Arsenal squad with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard out injured. He slotted in on the left wing as Eddie Nketiah started down the middle.
The versatile attack has spent time on both wings, but not as much as you would think – 23 games as a right winger with 8 goals and 10 assists.
If Saka is out, and with Martinelli’s injury, it would not make sense to then move the remaining of our first choice attacking trio away from his most natural position.
Jesus has to start up-front.
Reiss Nelson
Probably the most natural right winger in the squad, he played on that flank throughout most of his youth career. It is also where he has played the majority of his senior games for Arsenal, Feyenoord and Hoffenheim.
Arteta would have looked at the problems Pedro Neto gave Nathan Ake last weekend and be thinking that Nelson could replicate that.
Neto is quick and direct and gave Ake all sorts of problems as Wolves beat Man City. The only difference is Neto is left footed and Ake’s problems mainly came when the Portuguese winger got inside of him.
In the modern game, with “inverted wingers” Nelson is a bit of a throwback to when a right winger was right footed and would just look to beat their man and put a cross in.
More recently, Nelson’s best performances for us have come when he has played on the left. Picking up the ball and driving more centrally with pace. I feel he is better on this flank and a more natural replacement for Martinelli than Sake.
Emile Smith Rowe
There have been calls for a while for Smith Rowe to return to the starting XI.
He spent much of last season injured, and in that time Martinelli pulled away from him as a left wing option. We have also since recruited Trossard.
It is easy to call for a player to start, but not so easy to say who he should replace – some will say he should replace Havertz, but his performances in a number 8 role have been poor thus far.
Smith Rowe’s best performances for Arsenal came either as a left sided midfielder, or as a sole attacking midfielder with 2 more defensive minded players (Partey and Xhaka) in behind him.
He has rarely played right wing in senior football. Right now in his career, he is more of an option on the left wing.
Leandro Trossard
Mikel Arteta and his team took the risk this summer by not buying a top class right winger to cover Saka (although recruiting a player to play 2nd fiddle to a world class 21-year-old would not have been easy).
The management team would have looked at Trossard and thought “Leandro will be first choice cover on both wings”.
Saka and Martinelli have never really spent time on the sidelines simultaneously, so I get the risk, but it has potentially come back to bite the team in the arse.
You would have expected Trossard to start on the left wing against Manchester City this weekend, but with Saka’s injury, we might be best moving him to the right.
Trossard is two footed and can do everything that Vieira can not in terms of running at a full back and pinging them back. He is solid cover for Saka.
That then leaves the left hand side open.
As above, Nelson, Smith Rowe and Vieira are all better suited to the left wing.
You shift Trossard to the right and play one of Nelson, Smith Rowe or Vieira on the left. Considering Kyle Walker’s pace, I would probably go with Emile Smith Rowe.
I think Smith Rowe’s movement inside will make Walker less comfortable than having to go stride to stride with Nelson. The English full back will also be able to easily cover off Vieira trying to go round the outside and wipe balls in.
So I have probably left the best till last.
Against City I would play a front 3 of: ESR Jesus Trossard.
In behind them I would go Rice, Odegaard and Partey. Rice will be key covering that left hand side c.
Final thoughts: I actually think Arteta taking Saka off in the last 3 games was him protecting him.
In another game, another time, I think Saka could have shaken off those injuries and played on. But this might have led to longer term issues.
We still do not know the full extent of Tuesday (I am writing this Wednesday morning ahead of flying to Athens). Maybe he was just taken off as a precaution.
People would not tell a brain surgeon how to do their work, or a heart surgeon. Why do they think they are qualified to tell sporing doctors how to do their work?
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 