Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta cannot be totally blamed for Bukayo Saka's serious hamstring injury, but there were opportunities missed to restrict the winger's minutes, Gunners expert Charles Watts has said.
Arsenal lost their Hale End star in the first half of Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace, and Arteta has since confirmed that he will be sidelined for "many weeks" with a torn muscle, the most serious injury of his fledlging career so far.
Reports have claimed that Saka could be in the treatment room until March, ruling him out of a plethora of key fixtures between now and the spring, and Watts believes that the impact of the 23-year-old's absence on this Arsenal squad cannot be overstated.
"Absolutely massive," Watts told Sports Mole when asked how big a blow losing Saka is. "We've all feared it for a long, long time, but it was going to happen at some point. He's a machine. He's a robot. He's managed to stay largely injury free. He's never had a bad injury. When he has been out, it's just been for a couple of weeks.
"Arsenal are just so used to him being there every week to be able to try and pull something out of bag and to be the lynchpin of the attack. And now this is the first time that they're going to have to try and find a way to win and keep winning without him over a massive period of time. Everything goes through Saka in attack. He's not scored huge amounts of goals this season, but he's contributed to a massive majority of Arsenal's goals. He's either set them up, scored or played a key part. And that right-hand side from Arsenal is just so integral to what they do.
"Mikel Arteta admitted as much when he spoke about it, but he did try and look at it from another point of view. It's an opportunity. Saka I'm sure is going to be absolutely devastated because he's never had to deal with something like this before. But Arsenal can't afford to feel sorry for themselves. They've got to find a way to win. They managed it for a bit when Odegaard went out and then it began to get too much for them. They can't afford for that to happen again.
"They have to continue winning and doing it every single week because Liverpool aren't going to be dropping many points. That's pretty clear. If they want to stay in this title race, they've got to find a way to win without him. Saka's that guy for Arsenal who will step up in a key moment when things aren't going well. They need someone else to be that big moment guy now in the attack. It's going to be interesting if they can find one."
Rodri, Salah comparison made after serious Saka injury
Saka's lengthy layoff deprives Arsenal of a player who has been involved in 21 goals in 24 games this season - nine of his own and 13 assists - with only Mohamed Salah setting up more goals than the Englishman in the current Premier League campaign.
Saka has never missed more than nine consecutive matches for club and country in his career, but the attacker is likely to be missing approximately 14 games across four different competitions (Premier League, Champions League, EFL Cup and FA Cup) if he is out for two months as feared.
Two of Saka's backups from the 2023-24 campaign - Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson - were loaned out in the summer transfer window, and a knee injury to Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling has also limited Arsenal's options on that side.
For Watts, Arsenal losing Saka is on par with Manchester City losing Rodri - whom the champions have crumbled without - or Liverpool being without Salah for months on end, saying: "He's one of Arsenal's best players. Every team has got their best player.
"Manchester City, they can't afford to be without Rodri. If Liverpool were to lose Mo Salah for three months, it'd be a huge blow to them. And that's why there's always talk about has Saka been overplayed, which I can understand, but it's his first injury in four or five years. He's one of Arsenal's best players, so he's just always going to play because he's one of the best players in the team.
"This season of all seasons, they've actually tried to manage his minutes more and they have managed his minutes better than they have previously, but it's still not been enough. On the back of a summer tournament as well, we've seen so many players fall short with these injuries.
'Liverpool will be licking lips after Saka injury'
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"There's no immediate backup to him in the squad. They've brought Raheem Sterling in, he's got injured at the same time. I don't think he would have really been the answer anyway, but he probably would have got more minutes than we've seen. The squad are going to have to take this on their shoulders now and they're going to have to step up and try and fill the void. It's going to be a really tough ask for Arsenal.
"It's impossible for me to sit here and say now they've got as good a chance as they had a week ago of catching Liverpool. They haven't. Their chances have taken a huge, huge blow, there's no doubt about that. Arne Slot will be licking his lips, all the Liverpool players will as well, knowing that Arsenal are going to be without Saka for three months."
A Saka-less Arsenal still have a six-point gap to make up to Liverpool in the Premier League table, and Arteta's men are fighting for glory on four fronts heading into 2025, also occupying third place in the Champions League standings and on the verge of sealing a last-16 place.
The Gunners should therefore advance straight to the last 16, which begins in March, but Saka will also be unavailable for January 12's FA Cup opener against Manchester United and both legs of their EFL Cup semi-final with Newcastle United early next year.
On Arsenal's hopes of winning a trophy with their academy starlet missing, Watts added: "It's going to be a much tougher ask without Saka now. They've had a really horrible FA Cup draw as well. It's just about finding a way to deal with it. Arsenal have still got good players. They beat Man City last season at home for the first time in so many years, and that was without Saka.
"They can win without Saka. There's no doubt they can win. They've got the players who can help them cope. But I think the key thing is just the length of time that he's going to be out. It's not just winning a couple of games. It's winning consistently at the crucial stage of the season, when silverware is now on the line.
Who should Arsenal's first-choice Saka replacement be?
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"So they're going to be a weaker team. They're still going to be a strong team, and I think they'll still win plenty of games. But it's really, really damaged their chances, I think, of winning significant silverware this season."
Saka was replaced by Leandro Trossard at Selhurst Park, a move which saw Gabriel Martinelli shifted out to the right-hand side, where he played a critical role in Kai Havertz's goal before scoring himself in the second period.
The in-form Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri can also provide cover on that side, but Watts wants to see Martinelli given a longer run of games in that position, adding: "I'd move Martinelli to the right.
"Just because of the form Jesus is in up top, I think it'd be a shame to move him out to the right-hand side. Certainly for Ipswich, Martinelli on the right, Jesus up front, probably Trossard on the left and Havertz behind with Martin Odegaard. There's still goals there. That's probably what I would look for initially. Jesus on the right is definitely an interesting option, I think it's definitely an option we'll see Mikel Arteta use as well.
"He said in his press conference, he's actually not sure what he's going to do yet. I'm not sure that's true, I'm sure he's probably got a fair idea, but he said he's still mulling over the different options. He's going to talk to the players and see what they're comfortable with, which I thought was quite interesting when he was saying that. But I'm sure he's got a pretty clear idea in his head, even though he's not telling us what he will try and do to see if it works."
Saka's injury came on his 250th appearance for Arsenal, and the 23-year-old is the third-youngest player to hit that milestone for the Gunners after Cesc Fabregas and all-time record appearance-maker David O'Leary.
Why Arteta is not fully to blame for Saka injury
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Fabregas and O'Leary both forged successful careers in North London, but news of Saka's layoff reignited the debate about whether Arteta is overplaying the attacker, who has started 22 matches across the Premier League, EFL Cup and Champions League.
The only times Arteta has chosen to drop Saka from the first XI were in the EFL Cup wins over Preston North End and Crystal Palace, but he was still given 28 minutes off the bench in the former match, despite the result being a foregone conclusion.
Watts therefore feels that Arteta could have resisted the urge to throw him on a couple of times, but a serious problem was inevitable, saying: "He's 23 and this is his first significant injury. Players get injured. Lots of people now will point the finger and say, 'oh, well, I told you so.' But you've been sort of telling us so for the last four years and he's not been injured. He's a winger. Wingers get hamstring injuries.
"There's definitely been opportunities when Mikel could have used him less. Some games he's not been playing, they're 3-0 up and they brought him on, do you need to do that? Probably not. But he is one of Arsenal's best players, and the best players in teams play the majority of the games.
"When he goes to England, he's one of England's best players, so the England manager will play him - much to the annoyance of Arsenal fans, but they will play him because he's one of the best players in the England squad. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, isn't it? At some point this was just going to happen, and they've got to deal with it."
Arsenal's first game since Saka's injury comes at home to Ipswich Town on Friday evening.
Ben Knapton
