Arsenal suffer a major injury blow as star striker limps off against Crystal Palace
Arsenal conceded once and could have dispatched another, but the biggest blow in the opening 25 minutes against Crystal Palace was an injury to Bukayo Saka.
The resilient winger has started 16 of Arsenal’s 17 top-flight games this season, making just one trip to Bournemouth in October. The Gunners lost 2-0 in his absence.
Saka is no stranger to an aggressive approach to opposition defenders, spending large parts of each contest mummified on the turf. However, the 23-year-old invariably gets back to his feet, often leading on his own arsenalattack attacks.
During a chaotic game in which Gabriel Jesus twice fired the visitors ahead either side of an Ismaila Sarr equaliser, Saka only had time to attempt three passes. The last of these picked out Martin Odegaard at the post for Palace, but it came at the cost of injury.
After a challenge from left back Tyrick Mitchell as he tried to block the forward’s cut, From he remained on the ground and was seen clutching his hamstrings. After a surprisingly brief inspection by Arsenal’s medical department, Arteta was forced to withdraw his star player in the 25th minute.
Leandro Trossard entered the pitch as Saka’s replacement, but he doesn’t offer the same end product guarantee. Before Saturday’s game, Saka had a league-high five goals and a division-leading ten assists.
Despite the festive flood of accessories, Saka has time to recover. Arsenal are next in action against promoted fighters Ipswich Town at the Emirates Stadium on Friday 27 December. The Gunners then travel to Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on New Year’s Day before a tough trip to Brighton on January 4.
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