{"id":295069,"date":"2023-10-04T14:27:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T14:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=295069"},"modified":"2023-10-04T14:27:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T14:27:10","slug":"khan-saka-is-arsenals-undroppable-force-but-its-taking-its-toll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/khan-saka-is-arsenals-undroppable-force-but-its-taking-its-toll\/","title":{"rendered":"KHAN: Saka is Arsenal&apos;s undroppable force &#8211; but it&apos;s taking its toll"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>ISAAN KHAN: Give the boy a break! Bukayo Saka is now a major doubt for\u00a0 Arsenal&#8217;s crunch clash with Man City after limping off in Lens&#8230; he&#8217;s been Mikel Arteta&#8217;s undroppable force this season, but it&#8217;s starting to take its toll<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bukayo Saka limped off with a muscular issue against Lens on Tuesday night\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Arsenal&#8217;s star man is now a major doubt to face champions Man City on Sunday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast\u00a0&#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bukayo Saka had looked to the turf, clutched his thigh and slowly ambled off once again on Tuesday night. It has become a familiar sight, a routine even.<\/p>\n<p>Yet after Arsenal\u2019s chastening defeat to Lens, Mikel Arteta spoke with concern. This was not just a \u2018knock\u2019. But a muscular issue, after a knock last weekend, and another the weekend before.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta said: \u2018He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and felt something muscular.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was big enough not to allow him to continue to play the game and that\u2019s a worry for us.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have no clue (if he can make this weekend).\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76159911-12593353-image-a-25_1696425248873.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Arsenal&#8217;s star man Bukayo Saka is a huge doubt to face champions Manchester City on Sunday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76159917-12593353-image-a-27_1696425257080.jpg\" height=\"392\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Saka limped off after hitting the turf during Arsenal&#8217;s Champions League 2-1 defeat by Lens<\/p>\n<p>He is now a doubt for Sunday\u2019s match against Manchester City, the Gunners\u2019 biggest afternoon this season thus far.<\/p>\n<h3>Arsenal&#8217;s league record with and without Saka\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>With Saka (since 2020-21)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Starts: 110 starts<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Win rate: 60%<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Points per game: 1.9<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Goals per 90: 1.8<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Passes into the final third: 61.3<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Without Saka (since 2020-21)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Starts: 11<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Win rate: 46%<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Points per game: 1.5<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Goals per 90: 1.5<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Passes into the final third: 50.9<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A victory, depending on how Spurs fare against Luton Town with goal difference a factor, could see the north London club usurp City to top of the table.<\/p>\n<p>It would be a significant statement, and one made measurably more possible with Saka on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>With hindsight, whether or whether not the winger should have started against Lens does come into the frame after the lumps and bruises he endured in the days prior for both Arsenal and England; the hacks received by Ukraine\u2019s backline early in September can\u2019t be forgotten, either.<\/p>\n<p>But in fairness to Arteta, Saka was rested last Wednesday against Brentford in the Carabao Cup.<\/p>\n<p>And when you have such a talent within one\u2019s ranks, pragmatism can easily wane in favour of results.<\/p>\n<p>Take the last three games Saka has played in. Against Tottenham, his strike deflecting off Cristian Romero gave Arsenal the lead before he doubled it with a second-half penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Facing Bournemouth, he scored a tap-in and caused the backline a headache with his darting runs before trudging off in the 76th minute in pain.<\/p>\n<p>And then on Tuesday night, his pass resulted in Gabriel Jesus\u2019s opener against Lens, and it\u2019s fair to say the Gunners looked worse for his enforced departure on 34 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a double-pronged dilemma: he needs the rest after receiving brutal knocks from opposition week-to-week, owing to how difficult is to stop him on that right flank, but when he plays, he produces \u2014 nearly every time.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76160325-12593353-image-a-28_1696426003133.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mikel Arteta has continually started the England international on the right wing for Arsenal<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76160407-12593353-image-a-29_1696426191456.jpg\" height=\"418\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Manchester City travel to the Emirates this weekend for a pivotal clash with their title rivals<\/p>\n<p>Across all competitions, he has the second highest number of shots (21) and shots on target (10) in his team \u2014 only Martin Odegaard bettering him by one and three respectively.<\/p>\n<p>For chances created, Saka leads the way with 26. That eclipses the 12 produced by captain Odegaard, who is in second.<\/p>\n<p>There is no doubt as to how crucial he is to this side.<\/p>\n<p>Though, Arteta\u2019s reliance on the 22-year-old is not too dissimilar to other clubs who rely on their own star man. Of the league\u2019s 20 teams, aside from goalkeepers, six have a player who has played more than Saka\u2019s 807 minutes across all competitions so far.<\/p>\n<p>They include Aston Villa\u2019s Ezri Konsa (930 minutes), Arsenal centre back William Saliba (900 minutes) and Man City right back Kyle Walker (899 minutes).<\/p>\n<p>A heavy workload is not uncommon. Though where Saka is different is wear-and-tear.<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76159915-12593353-image-a-26_1696425252473.jpg\" height=\"436\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Saka has started 110 Premier League matches for Arsenal out of 121 since the 2020-21 season<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/04\/14\/76160445-12593353-image-a-30_1696426273637.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Arteta admitted he had &#8216;no clue&#8217; whether the winger would be fit and available for Sunday<\/p>\n<p>As Mail Sport reported last month, he has been nagged by an Achilles issue that affected him last season.<\/p>\n<p>The winger\u2019s steely character also means he would never tell his manager he can\u2019t play, even if his ability to perform is compromised by injury.<\/p>\n<p>How the Spaniard and Arsenal cope without their \u2018starboy\u2019, if he is out on the sidelines, could very well dictate Arsenal\u2019s fortunes in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>But what is certain is that if Saka can merely run by the time Sunday afternoon arrives, Arteta will be peering in his direction.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12593353\/ISAAN-KHAN-boy-break-Bukayo-Saka-major-doubt-Arsenals-crunch-clash-Man-City-limping-Lens-hes-Mikel-Artetas-undroppable-force-season-starting-toll.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISAAN KHAN: Give the boy a break! Bukayo Saka is now a major doubt for\u00a0 Arsenal&#8217;s crunch clash with Man <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>KHAN: Saka is Arsenal&amp;apos;s undroppable force - but it&amp;apos;s taking its toll - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/khan-saka-is-arsenals-undroppable-force-but-its-taking-its-toll\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KHAN: Saka is Arsenal&amp;apos;s undroppable force - but it&amp;apos;s taking its toll - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISAAN KHAN: Give the boy a break! 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