Arsenal suffered another disappointing performance in the Premier League this weekend, drawing bottom-feeders Manchester United 1-1 at Old Trafford in a game in which they dominated possession.
But Arsenal were unable to turn that possessional dominance into much meaningful, and, actually, they can consider themselves lucky to have gotten a point, as they owe a lot to David Raya and two especially brilliant saves that kept Arsenal in it.
Arsenal continue to have issues with putting away chances or even creating clear-cut attacking opportunities, but, hopefully, a portion of those issues will be mitigated shortly.
That’s because, prior to kickoff, Arsenal fans received some positive injury news regarding their best player, right winger Bukayo Saka. According to Gunnerblog, Saka is expected to return to Arsenal later in March.
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s best player
The Saka news comes after Gabriel Martinelli made his own return from injury against Manchester United, though the Brazilian international had a minimal impact on the game in the second half, coming in and missing easy chances while failing to take advantage of opportunities to create for his teammates.
Saka, on the right wing, is a much more effective player than Martinelli on the left and much more important. For the second time this season, his absence has been felt by Arsenal, as the England international has suffered a couple of significant injuries that have derailed his chance at competing with Mohamed Salah for the Premier League Player of the Season award in 2024/25.
Still only 23 years old, Saka is the unquestioned star of the Arsenal attack and has 5 goals and 10 assists in 16 Premier League starts this season to prove it, averaging 2.6 key passes, 2.1 dribbles completed, and 2.0 fouls drawn per game as the most complete winger in English football.
His return cannot come soon enough. Saka has been out since Dec. 22 with a hamstring injury, missing a total of 20 games so far. At mid-week Arsenal face PSV in the second leg of a Champions League Round of 16 they already have sealed at 3-1 on aggregate, but, next weekend, the Gunners will face Chelsea in the Premier League.
After that, Arsenal don’t play until April when they take on another local rival in Fulham. They will then have an underrated Brentford and the Champions League quarterfinals to look forward to in April. And if they want to advance further than usual in the Champions League this year, they will very clearly need Saka healthy and available.
