Mikel Arteta casts doubt over Bukayo Saka’s fitness ahead of crunch week for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has declared that Bukayo Saka could miss Arsenal’s next two matches due to a hip issue.

The 24-year-old pulled up in the warm-up just minutes before the Gunners’ 4-0 win away at Leeds on Saturday.

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He was immediately replaced by Noni Madueke in the line-up, with the former Chelsea man registering his first Premier League goal and assist in over a year.

And it now remains to be seen whether Saka will be in action for the north London giants ahead of what is one of the biggest weeks of their season so far.

Arsenal welcome rivals Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night – live on talkSPORT – for their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

Arteta‘s side have one foot in their first League Cup final since 2018 after running out 3-2 winners at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago.

And they then host Sunderland in the league on Saturday, where a win would see them extend their lead over Manchester City, who play Liverpool on Sunday, at the top of the table to nine points.

Gunner miss out?

Saka’s fitness was put to Arteta in his pre-match press conference on Monday, where he stressed that the Hale End graduate is not a long-term concern.

However, he couldn’t guarantee whether Saka would feature against Chelsea or the Black Cats following tests carried out on the 48-cap England international.

Quizzed on Saka’s condition, Arteta said: “We have to wait.

“Today he was better, but we have to wait and see, have a response and then make the decision.”

Pressed if the injury is serious, Arteta added: “It doesn’t look like something too serious.

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“Whether he’s going to be available for tomorrow or the weekend, we’ll see.”

Saka has already missed three matches at the start of the campaign due to a hamstring knock.

The right winger has featured in 31 games in all competitions this season, but has struggled for consistency.

He has still managed to chip in with seven goals and as many assists and is on course to reach double digits for goals for a fifth consecutive campaign.

While Arteta gave positive news regarding Saka, midfielder Mikel Merino is in danger of missing the rest of the term after Mikel Merino suffered a broken foot.

Commenting on whether the Spaniard, who would surely be in Spain’s 2026 World Cup squad, will return before May, Arteta remarked: “Well, we hope so, I don’t know.

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“Obviously, he needs to go through a procedure, which is never always positive, he’s a big player for us.

“An athlete that has such a versatility and capacity to compete in various positions. Yeah, that’s a big blow.”

Arteta continued: “It’s a very rare injury, so we have to wait and see once we have the surgery, how that reacts daily.

“Obviously, monitor it throughout the week for the surgery.

“I know Mikel is going to do absolutely everything that he possibly can to come back as quick as possible.

“But, as well, he has to respect the healing process and the fact that, obviously, it’s an injury that is quite rare.”