SAKA’S INJURY IN ARSENAL’S LOSS TO LENS IS A DOUBLE BLOW.

Following the forward’s injury in the opening period of Arsenal’s 2-1 Champions League loss to RC Lens, manager Mikel Arteta expressed concern over the forward’s availability for Sunday’s league match against Manchester City.

The muscular problem was “big enough not to allow him to continue playing the game and that’s obviously a worry for us,” according to Arteta, who replaced Saka with Fabio Vieira in the 34th minute of Tuesday’s encounter.

The 22-year-old, who was making his 87th straight Premier League game, hobbled off the field during Arsenal’s 4-0 league victory against Bournemouth.

Prior to that, he missed last week’s League Cup match against Brentford due to an injury he sustained during a 2-2 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

When asked if he felt guilty about starting Saka despite his recent injuries, Arteta responded, “No, it was only a knock that he picked up the previous day, and he was totally OK…

“(Saka’s prior injuries) were more knocks than anything else,” said one observer. He hasn’t actually missed any games in the recent couple that he has had. The only break we provided him was during the League Cup match against Brentford.

Saka has drawn criticism for not receiving enough rest, but Arteta, the Spanish manager, claimed that all of the players were eager to face Lens.

“It was a big Champions League night,” he continued.

“I described the premise and the kind of game we would be playing today, and they were all aware of it. But it’s so challenging to win the Champions League, and tonight we learn a valuable lesson as well.