Mikel Arteta believes Bukayo Saka should be fine for Saturday’s Premier League match against Burnley after the forward hobbled off late on against Sevilla.
The England international scored the Gunners’ second goal in their 2-0 win over the La Liga outfit at the Emirates, a victory that moves them to within just one point of qualification for the Champions League knockout stage.
Saka picked up a knock in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Lens last month and subsequently missed the following match against Manchester City, but Arteta did not seem too concerned over the winger’s fitness this time around in his post-match press conference.
Arteta allays Saka’s injury fears after the Sevilla victory.
The Arsenal boss said, “It was just a kick [on Saka].
“Our physios informed me that he was not eager to continue.
“I want to assume he will be OK [for Burnley].”
When asked whether Saka is getting used to being fouled on a regular basis, Arteta added, “I think he’s getting used to it.
“And I don’t think that situation [being fouled] is going to change either, just because of the way he plays and attacks opposition players.
“So he better get used to it.”
Arteta also explained that Takehiro Tomiyasu’s half-time substitution was due to another fitness concern.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are close to qualifying for the Champions League knockout rounds.
The Basque manager said: “He [Tomiyasu] had some discomfort in the first half, and we did not want to take any chances or any risks.
“He’s played a lot of minutes recently as well, and we had Oleksandar [Zinchenko] on the bench ready to come on.”
Tomiyasu missed a large chunk of last season with a serious knee injury, and Arteta will hope to have him back fully fit as soon as possible, particularly after his recent impressive displays.
