Gyökeres Handed Brutal EPL Reality Check As Saka Injury Concern Looms Over Arsenal

Following a disappointing goalless stalemate against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shared news of a new injury worry within the squad.

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Despite a wealth of scoring opportunities at the City Ground, the Gunners were unable to find the net, marking the second consecutive week they failed to take advantage of a Manchester City stumble.

Although the draw extends Arsenal’s lead at the summit to seven points, Aston Villa has the chance to close that gap to just four points if they secure a victory over Everton this Sunday.

Following the EFL Cup clash with Chelsea, Arteta opted to shuffle his lineup with three key adjustments. Most notably, Noni Madueke stepped into the starting XI as Bukayo Saka moved to the bench.

While Saka made a second-half appearance and nearly scored with a header—denied only by a spectacular save from Matz Sels—Arteta later explained that the decision to bench him was precautionary.

When questioned about rotating both flanks (which included starting Gabriel Martinelli over Leandro Trossard), the manager cited workload management. He noted that Saka had played significant minutes and was dealing with a minor “niggle” prior to kickoff, making it essential to protect his fitness.

“We have some fantastic players that can provide different things and we did try it from the beginning, we tried after half-time as well, taking more risks and bringing in even more players in those attacking options. We tried in every way and it wasn’t enough unfortunately.”

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Despite Saka creating a significant opening for himself, Viktor Gyökeres struggled to make an impact once again. The Swedish forward faced a difficult transition back to league play after his standout performance earlier in the week.

Although he recently dominated Chelsea in a cup tie with both a goal and an assist, the 27-year-old was effectively neutralized at the City Ground. Nottingham Forest defenders Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic kept him quiet, limiting him to a mere 10 touches throughout the match.

Gyökeres’s transition to North London has highlighted concerns regarding his physicality. This was particularly evident on Saturday, where he failed to win a single one of his seven individual battles—losing all five of his aerial contests and both of his duels on the ground.

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