Coming off a season where Arsenal finished second in the Premier League and reached the semifinals of the Champions League despite a litany of injuries, expectations are high for Mikel Arteta in 2025/26.
Gunner fans believe that with better injury luck, they can win trophies given how well they performed last season amidst a host of squad restrictions.
Unfortunately, just two games into the new campaign, players have already begun to drop like flies.
With Kai Havertz out for some time due to a knee injury, the 5-0 win over Leeds at the Emirates brought even more high-profile concerns, as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were both withdrawn with troubling fitness issues. That means the arrival of Eberechi Eze will be even more critical, as the Crystal Palace star chose the London club over their biggest rivals Tottenham.
The Sporting News has the latest as Arsenal are once again beset by likely absences for some of their most influential attacking players.
MORE: How Eberechi Eze fits at Arsenal | Why Eze rejected Spurs in favour of Arsenal
What happened to Bukayo Saka against Leeds?
Early in the second half of Arsenal’s win over Leeds on Aug. 23, Bukayo Saka went down in clear pain, sitting on the turf and feeling the back of his left leg. He had just completed a run on the ball, sprinting from the right flank diagonally inwards toward the top of the penalty area.
As he pulled up just outside the 18-yard box, Saka laid the ball off to his left for Riccardo Calafiori and began to hop on one leg.
Saka received medical treatment from the Arsenal training staff and clearly could not continue, as he gingerly rose to his feet before limping off the pitch and heading down the tunnel.
After the match, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed it was a hamstring injury for Saka. “With Bukayo, while he was running with the ball, carrying the ball and wrestling with the defender, he felt something in his hamstring. Let’s see, it’s not the same one as the previous injury but we’re two weeks in and we’ve already lost Kai [Havertz], Martin [Odegaard] and Bukayo so it tells you how well equipped you have to be in this league to maintain the level you want.”
The muscle problem for Saka came just minutes after Odegaard was forced off through an injury of his own, replaced on 38 minutes by Ethan Nwaneri. Odegaard was seen holding his shoulder as he came off.
Latest news, reports as Bukayo Saka suffers muscle injury
Mikel Arteta offered no information after the match, saying: “We have to wait to understand how long he will be out.”
However, Arteta was clearly concerned. “I haven’t spoke to the doctor yet but for Bukayo to come off, it’s significant.”
A Grade 1 hamstring strain, the tamest kind, would see Saka out two to three weeks. If the injury were to be of a Grade 2 or Grade 3 variety, it could see him sidelined up to a month or more, and if it were to require surgery, it would see him out around three months.
However, The Sporting News understands neither Saka nor Odegaard’s injuries are likely to be as serious as first feared.
Scans were completed and while their immediate future remains uncertain, the injuries are not likely to linger as long as potentially feared.
Bukayo Saka injury history as Arsenal star struggles with hamstring issues
Prior to the Leeds game, Bukayo Saka had dealt with hamstring injuries on four separate occasions throughout his career.
The first came in November of 2020, and while that only sidelined him for six days and saw him miss one match, it was a sign of things to come. Saka then missed three weeks with a thigh injury in October of 2023, missing five games between Arsenal and England duty.
The problems would become more concerning in the 2024/25 season, as he missed most of October with a muscle injury before the big one struck in late December. Saka went down with a hamstring injury that required surgery, leaving him sidelined for three months before returning in late March.
This list includes all injuries across Bukayo Saka’s career that caused him to miss three or more games. All injury data via Transfermarkt.com, unless specified. Does not include illness, lack of match fitness, or rest.
- Hamstring injury: Dec. 22, 2024 — Mar. 30, 2025 (Arsenal 19 matches)
- Hamstring injury: Oct. 10, 2024 — Oct. 24, 2024 (Arsenal 1 match, England 2 matches)
- Undisclosed injury: Mar. 21, 2024 — Apr. 6, 2024 (Arsenal 3 matches, England 2 matches)
- Hamstring injury: Oct. 3, 2023 — Oct. 21, 2023 (Arsenal 1 match, England 2 matches)
