Arteta admits Saka thigh injury signs 'not good' as Arsenal await MRI results

Bukayo Saka faces an anxious wait over the severity of a thigh injury sustained during Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, with manager Mikel Arteta conceding the early indications are “not good”.

The England winger pulled up in the first half at the Allianz Arena and was forced off the pitch, with Arteta revealing on Friday that fluid around the injury had complicated the initial assessment. Saka did not train ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home fixture against Everton, and a further MRI scan was scheduled to clarify the extent of the damage.

“He’s got another MRI this afternoon because he had quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury,” Arteta said. “We will know more probably tomorrow. We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists.”

The Arsenal head coach was candid about his concern. “Obviously when a player has to walk off the pitch and is struggling to walk without any pain and is restricted to movement, they are not good signs. So let’s be very patient so we can give a definitive assessment, and then let you know.”

With Saka unavailable and forward Christos Tzolis also sidelined, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are set to lead Arsenal’s attack against Everton. Madueke scored the winner in last Sunday’s Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest, while Eze netted in the draw at Bayern.

The timing is particularly damaging given the fixtures ahead. Arsenal play five times before the November international break, including a trip to Liverpool in the Premier League next weekend, a Carabao Cup visit to Fleetwood Town, and a Champions League away game at Slavia Prague. They close the run by hosting Hull on 7 November.

Saka has a history of muscular problems, having missed significant spells over the past two seasons with hamstring, thigh and hip injuries. An Achilles issue also disrupted his fitness toward the end of last season and affected his involvement at the summer’s World Cup. The 25-year-old’s availability for any part of this busy period now hinges on the results of further specialist assessment.