Mikel Arteta jumped to the defence of his red-hot winger, saying if anyone claims Bukayo Saka was in fact not injured, the club can always show the proof he was
Mikel Arteta has claimed Arsenal would be willing to “send an MRI” to anyone that questions the integrity of Bukayo Saka’s recent England withdrawal following his stunning display against Nottingham Forest.
Saka, who has been struggling with a groin issue sustained in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, scored and assisted as Arsenal inflicted Forest’s first away defeat of the Premier League season.
And Arteta jumped to the defence of his red-hot winger, saying if anyone claims Saka was in fact not injured, the club can always show the proof he was.
He said: “Well we can send an MRI scan, it’s very simple. That’s a communication that was very clear between the medical staff of Arsenal and England. He hasn’t done anything, he was away and needed time to heal. He’s done one training session.”
Arteta also hailed the brilliance of Martin Odegaard as the Norwegian inspired Arsenal to their 2000th top-flight victory. The Spaniard said: “Without this kind of player in the team it was always quiet.
“It doesn’t surprise me because I see him every day. When he’s in the team, you can sense something that is different. It’s difficult to put a finger on it. There was something different 48 hours before the game too, we had 19 players training and it was so competitive.”
He added on Saka’s remarkable chemistry with Odegaard as the pair dazzled on a sodden afternoon in north London: “That’s chemistry, sometimes you meet somebody, straight away you make eye contact and something flows. That’s the case with those two.
“That’s what’s happened, it happens off the field, it happens on the field and with many others as well. That’s something in football that is very difficult to say.
But when you put them together in the right spaces, things flourish and things happen naturally. With others, you try to force it and it doesn’t work. With these two we are very lucky to have them.”
Arteta also revealed he is reluctant to rush Ethan Nwaneri’s development following his first top-flight goal, adding: “We are responsible for building his career. We have to do that brick by brick. Now you have to put the cement to make sure the next brick sticks. If we put five or six bricks straight away it won’t work.”
Meanwhile, Nuno Espirito Santo had no complaints about the result. He said: “They played well and we didn’t play so well, Arsenal were the better team.
“Second half we became more pressing but they killed us with the second and third goals. There’s not much to say. We have to improve because we did a lot of bad things – especially with the defending. Losing is always very painful. We came up short.”
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