Mikel Arteta can soften Bukayo Saka injury blow as Arsenal star set for exciting new role

Arsenal’s fears that losing Bukayo Saka to injury could damage their Premier League title chances are certainly easy to comprehend. But Mikel Arteta still has one ace up his sleeve left to play to limit the damage.

Saka was forced off with a problem in the first half of their 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday and a scan later showed a tear in his hamstring.

Arteta confirmed that the injury was “bad” and would keep the 23-year-old out for several weeks, perhaps even months.

Given that Saka is responsible for contributing to 15 of their 34 goals this season (five goals, 10 assists), it represents a massive blow at a critical stage of the season.

But the fact the Gunners won that match by a four-goal margin with some clinical finishing to boot shows there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Gabriel Jesus grabbed two well-taken goals, while Kai Havertz and Declan Rice got their first goals in a long while.

The most impressive aspect came from how Gabriel Martinelli adapted to switching to the right flank as he caused an abundance of issues for Tyrick Mitchell.

Arteta was clearly impressed with the Brazilian’s impact in the unfamiliar role, which requires a significant tweak to his usual style of directly taking on defenders and cutting from the left.

“Yeah, that’s the first one that we decided to go through, especially because he’s played there before,” Arteta said before their clash with Ipswich on Thursday.

“He played the last game there against Everton in the last match of the season. He did really well.

“I think he did really well again the other day. He scored a goal, he created an assist and it’s a good option to have. We’re going to have the options to play both footed as well. If we need to, another kind of profile in relation to the opposition. So, we are on it.”

Arteta knows that he has several options to play if Martinelli struggles to make impact, with the Spaniard listing as many as four alternative solutions to fill the void left by Saka.

“Gabby [Gabriel Jesus] has played there, Ethan [Nwaneri] has played there, Leo [Leandro Trossard] can play there in relation to how that unit moves. Kai [Havertz] can play there, asking him different things,” Arteta said.

“So, we’ll see, try to speak to them as well and understand how they feel about it.”

The 42-year-old is likely to use Martinelli there again when they face the struggling Tractor Boys, with Trossard a possible option to use on the left instead.

Martinelli has four goals in 15 Premier League games this season already, but this switch could unlock another side of the wide man’s game which otherwise hasn’t been seen before due to Saka’s undroppable status on the right.

And while the England international’s absence may coincide with some adverse results, Arteta will trust his other attacking players to step up during this crucial period.