Premier League title challengers Arsenal have been hit with a body blow with the news that key attacker Bukayo Saka will be out for “many weeks” with a torn hamstring.
Saka has been in superb form again this season with 15 goal involvements in the Premier League already – scoring five times and providing ten assists.
But the 23-year-old went down holding his hamstring after 24 minutes and was forced to come off during Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace and left Selhurst Park on crutches.
Manager Mikel Arteta admitted after the game he was “worried” about the extent of Saka's injury and his fears proved well-founded as he revealed in the press conference for Friday's game at home to Ipswich Town that the muscle was torn rather than just strained.
And the Spanish coach revealed that Saka “was gutted” at the news of how serious the injury was. “You can tell he's not been injured [seriously before] because he was really emotional, he was really down,” said Arteta – who will also be without loan attacker Raheem Sterling who has picked up a knee problem – on Monday.
“We need to lift him up because he's part of what we do. It's part of his job, and he will be fine, but he's going to need a few days.
“He's going to immediately realise that he's so important in that dressing room. His energy level, his body language, the way he communicates with the rest of the team, because it's the only way at the moment that he can help, so he better do that well.
“[It's] another part of the development of a player. At some stage at this level you're going to get injured. Unfortunately, [this is] badly. It could also have been much worse. It could have been something else that can take you out for a year.
“It's how you react to that, how you overcome that situation and it's a great learning process for him as well. It is what it is. He's injured, we cannot change it. We're going to use this time now to help him.”
England international Saka has been an increasingly influential figure at the North London club since making his debut in 2019, scoring 12, 15 and 20 goals in all competitions across the next three seasons.
He has nine goals in 24 matches this season, missing just two of the Gunners' 26 games across the league, League Cup and Champions League, also due to a hamstring problem.
Arteta believes that a serious problem like this was inevitable given the amount of games top players are expected to play for club and country, calling the workload “unsustainable”.
Saka has played more than 52 games in each of the last four seasons, including two European Championships and the mid-season 2022 World Cup in Qatar for his country.
“It's probably an accumulation of a number of seasons,” added Arteta. “Bukayo and Declan [Rice], they've played over 130 games in two seasons so what's going to happen in the second one, the third one, the fourth one? If that continues the same way, it's probably unsustainable.
“And we have to find ways to physically turn them into monsters. That they can cope with anything. The fact that you play and recover is not a good pattern because you don't train. And the body needs to train. You start to lose a lot of factors in the physical aspect that's key to performance.”
One glimmer of light for Saka, Arsenal and England is that Arteta is “very optimistic” that the injury will not mean the end of his season in which the Gunners are still active in four competitions, while the Three Lions start their new era under manager Thomas Tuchel with two games in March.
Arsenal sit third in the Premier League, five points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and take on Newcastle United in a two-legged League Cup semi-final (January 7 and February 5) plus Manchester United in the FA Cup third round (January 12).
In the revamped Uefa Champions League, they lie third in the table after six matches, with another two games to go in the group stage, at home to Dinamo Zagreb (January 21) and away at Girona (January 29).
Tuchel starts his England reign with a World Cup qualifying double-header against Albania on March 21 followed by Latvia three days later.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Who: India v Afghanistan
What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru
When: June 14 to 18
TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts
Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
