Bukayo Saka could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines and leave Arsenal short-handed in the attack.
The Gunners’ No.7 appeared to suffer a non-contact quad injury at Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich. He fell down immediately after striking the ball just 10 minutes in and had to leave the game.
It wouldn’t be their first time dealing with a Saka injury. The Englishman has had his fair share of physical issues over the past couple of years. Last season alone he missed out on 3+ matches three different times.
On the first, Arsenal lost 0-1 to Liverpool but then defeated Notingham Forest 2-0 and Athletic Bilbao 3-0. The second was the smoothest, winning all four of their games without the right winger, against Kairat, Leeds United, Chelsea and Sunderland.
The most recent one, however, was rather tricky. They beat and then drew against Sporting but lost to Southampton, Bournemouth and Manchester City.
Now, Mikel Arteta will try to make sure this next spell without Saka won’t be like the last one. And he does have a few options.
How can Arsenal manage Bukayo Saka’s absence?
The obvious
The natural course of action following a Saka injury would be for Noni Madueke to take over. The former Chelsea winger has long played in positional systems hugging the touchline and holding width for his teams.
Christos Tzolis is also out for a few more days, which would see Eberechi Eze make the left wing his own.
Every player would slot in their most comfortable position while not messing with the rest of the team’s configuration. It would keep Arteta’s preferred three midfielders and allow continuity.
The only adjustment would probably happen in the left-back position. Since Eze works better as more of a left-attacking-midfielder than an actual winger, Riccardo Calafiori would probably have to stay outside more often than he tucks inside.
Odegaard protocol
Looking ahead to the near future when Tzolis is available once again, he would probably reclaim his spot in the starting XI. But it would make for a team full of players who either excel in supporting roles or need creation from others. Saka is usually the one who takes matters into his own hands.
It might not be his style, but Odegaard had one of the best stretches of his career precisely doing this.
The Norwegian midfielder showed a much different version of his usual self early on in the season. It’s a huge contrast comparing the first few games to the most recent ones.
The idea here would be for Arsenal to play through Odegaard during Saka’s absence. They won all five of those games and the talk was all about how they were playing a more aesthetically pleasing brand of football in that span.
For the last seven, results have still been good (W5 D1 L1) but fans and media are now wondering if the Gunners are actually a worse team compared to last season.
And with Arsenal usually concentrating their attacking actions in the right flank – with Saka being one of the main reasons – it would make sense to focus on Odegaard who also thrives down that side.
All-out attack + youth
This would be a more circumstantial option for specific in-game scenarios.
Max Dowman has played just a little over 100 minutes across three matches in all competitions this season. But he has a more similar profile to Saka than Madueke.
The 16-year-old looks more incisive and vertical with his carries and take-ons than Madueke, who is used to playing a specific role of providing width and staying near the touchline to stretch the pitch and the opposition defence.
So much so that in his only start so far this season, Dowman played the full 90 minutes and scored a brace against Ipswich Town. And that was in the number 10 role, with Madueke and Eze in what looked like a very well set 2-3-5 in-possession.
And Dowman was in charge of playing through the right-half-space, often joining wide plays but always looking to cut inside – and having enough freedom to do so.
This is closer to what Saka does, so it could be worth a shot while he is out.