Bukayo Saka injury news: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirms hamstring surgery as striker expected to miss at least two months

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Bukayo Saka will be out until March after hamstring surgery, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed.

Arsenal moved back into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Emirates – their first game without Saka after the England winger tore his right hamstring in the 5-1 win against Crystal Palace last weekend.

Ahead of Friday’s game, Arteta said Saka, 23, would be out for “many weeks”, but speaking in the moments after his side saw off a win that keeps the pressure on leaders Liverpool, Arteta offered a bigger window of time for his star man.

“They did a procedure on him and everything went well, but unfortunately he will be out for many, many weeks”, said Arteta.

“It will be more than two months. I don’t know how much longer exactly. It will depend on how the scar tissue starts to heal, the first week or so, and the mobility of that. It’s very hard to say.

“Bukayo’s replacement will be the team. There were moments when it went well tonight and moments when it looked like there was still work to be done. But I’m sure we’ll do it. We have to trust the team and not the individual”.

The length of Saka’s injury will be a major blow for Arteta, who is bidding to oversee Arsenal’s first Premier League title in two decades.

In Saka’s absence, and in the Gunners’ last game of 2024, Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game midway through the opening period.

Gabriel, Havertz and Martin Odegaard spurned chances to extend Arsenal’s lead in the second period, but their win moves them within six points of leaders Liverpool, having played a game more than the Reds, and a point ahead of Chelsea after their boxing. Daily defeat against Fulham.

Arteta continued: “I’m very happy with the win and the clean sheet and big parts of the game. They’re tough opponents and we’re playing so many games.

“You see teams are winning by small margins. Today we could have increased that margin but we didn’t and we held our nerve in the last few minutes to defend well.

“We should have scored more. We had some great openings in the second half, Gabriel’s great header from a yard out, but the team were consistent and didn’t concede anything and that’s something we always will give the opportunity to win games.”

Arsenal next play Brentford on New Year’s Day. Ipswich, who remain second from bottom, three points from safety, host Chelsea on Monday night.

Ipswich suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Newcastle in the game that preceded their trip to the Emirates, their fifth defeat in six games.

“It was a good step back in the right direction for us,” boss Kieran McKenna said. “We didn’t reach our level against Newcastle. Today we knew we had to be resilient and we did.”

Analysis: Arteta has work to do without Saka

Sky Sports’ Nick Wright at the Emirates Stadium:

Arteta promised Arsenal would be “different” without Saka. He knows he has no direct replacement for the 23-year-old. With this evidence, however, it may take some time to find a working formula in his absence as he begins a long spell on the sidelines.

Martinelli was chosen to take over Arsenal’s right-wing role after impressing after Saka’s withdrawal in the win at Crystal Palace, but he struggled, not registering a single shot, not creating no chances or even completed any dribbles.

The goal originated from the opposite side of the pitch, with Trossard getting away from Ben Johnson and sending a teasing cross into the six-yard box, where Havertz pounced. But Arsenal continued to direct a greater proportion of their attacks down their right.

Martinelli wasn’t the only one they were looking at. Martin Odegaard provided support and Arteta’s front line was more fluid than usual, with Gabriel Jesus and Havertz also featuring on that flank, as well as swapping positions between them before Jesus was replaced.

His movement caused Ipswich problems at times, but Arsenal generally struggled to carve out openings, except for one moment in the second half when he sprung the away goal.

Havertz ready to rise, but others must follow his example

Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds at the Emirates Stadium:

“It’s true that you don’t score five every week, and there was a degree of satisfaction in the voices of the home fans as they chanted ‘1-0 to Arsenal’ at the final whistle.

“This turned into a gut-wrenching performance that, amid the congested run of games, Mikel Arteta won’t care. Tick it off and move on to the next one.

“It’s a game that won’t go down in the memory, but it’s one that Arsenal eventually won thanks to Kai Havertz’s runaway clearance.

“The German was rewarded simply for not sitting still. His exuberance would later lead to a booking, but in Saka’s absence it was vital that he continued his impressive output throughout 2024.

“His decisive strike was his 24th goal of the calendar year – just four shy of Saka. As long as Starboy is injured, Havertz needs to continue this flow of finding the net.”