BUKAYO Saka’s ankle injury is “nothing serious” after he was forced off during Arsenal’s 4-0 Premier League win at Ipswich on Sunday, manager Mikel Arteta said.
The winger was injured by a high challenge on the back of his ankle in the 32nd minute by Leif Davis, who was sent off.
England international Saka was substituted early in the second half and was pictured with strapping on his ankle.
Arteta said the winger was “sore” – but added that the decision to take him off was just a precaution, with Arsenal facing the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain on 29 April.
“He was a bit sore, but it’s nothing serious, so it’s good,” Arteta said.
“I haven’t seen the slow motion, I’ve just seen the normal pace image and yeah, he cuts him from the back.
“I don’t think it’s intentional at all, but it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything, because you cannot see him coming.”
Arsenal have suffered an injury-hit campaign, with Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all absent for long periods.
And Arteta acknowledged that because of that, he does get concerned when he sees one of his players struggling during a match.
“I do,” he said, “especially with the numbers that we have right now and especially when they are back to goal, because normally it’s the moment when the foot is planted, your weight is there, and you cannot really react to it, but he’s fine.”
Arteta was thrilled with the way his players kept up their levels four days after sealing a Champions League semi-final place with a victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
“I think the first 35 minutes is one of the best 35 minutes we played this season,” Arteta said.
“We scored two goals [in the first half]; we could have scored three or four to be fair.
“We really dominated the game. Very high intensity and understanding what we had to do today to win here.
“And after, obviously, when they got the red card, the context of the game changed and we were much in control, scored another two goals, made certain rotations, so overall a very positive afternoon.”
With PSG to consider, Arteta must now decide whether to rest key players for Wednesday’s Premier League home game against Crystal Palace.