Arsenal star Bukayo Saka struggling with ‘illness’ as Mikel Arteta provides injury update
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Bukayo Saka is suffering from an ‘illness’ and provided an injury update on Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal’s Emirates Cup triumph.
Saka was an unused substitute while Zinchenko was not in the squad as the Gunners beat Monaco on penalties to lift the pre-season trophy on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka Suffering From ‘Illness’
Quizzed why the England international was not brought on, Arteta said: ‘He was fine, but afterwards he wasn’t feeling great on the bench. We didn’t want to use him. I think he had some sickness or some illness, so we could not use him.’
Oleksandr Zinchenko Injury Update
Asked about Ukraine star Zinchenko’s absence, Arteta added: ‘I think he’s close [to returning]. I think he’s going to start training with the team and hopefully we’ll have him back very soon.’
Arsenal Win Emirates Cup
Youssouf Fofana put Monaco 1-0 up at the Emirates but Eddie Nketiah, who was handed the captain’s armband, levelled it up to force penalties. Aaron Ramsdale made a crucial save in the shootout to secure the win and speaking more generally about the match, Arteta said: ‘[It was] very good. Especially for a lot of players that haven’t had many minutes in pre-season and as well, for the new players to play for the first time at Emirates Stadium it was special, you could feel the atmosphere and how excited the fans were.’
In terms of the game, Arteta said: ‘We struggled a little bit to dominate completely and have the game that we want, we had much better periods in the second half. I think we were still a bit leggy and jet legged from when we came, we trained really hard the last three days to be fair and we wanted that task for us, when we are not fresh enough to play, how can we compete. So, it was a good test for us and we’re happy with the outcome.’
Conclusion
Arsenal have enjoyed a successful pre-season campaign and will now be looking forward to the start of the new season. Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko, revealing that Saka is suffering from an ‘illness’ while Zinchenko is close to returning from injury. With Aaron Ramsdale making a crucial save in the shootout to secure the win, Arsenal will be hoping to carry their pre-season form into the new season.