Arsenal find themselves in a strong position in the Premier League table, but the injury to star winger Bukayo Saka has thrown a wrench into their plans. The England international is set to miss “many weeks” after being forced off during the first half of Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
With a congested January fixture schedule looming, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces a critical decision: rely on existing squad depth or venture into the transfer market to secure reinforcements.
After an active summer that saw the arrivals of Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino, Arteta may now need to consider player departures and potential new signings to address Saka’s absence. Speaking after confirming the winger’s injury, Arteta hinted at ongoing strategic planning but remained tight-lipped about possible additions.
There remain problems when it comes to extending Jamal Musiala’s contract at Bayern Munich and that could alert the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to a potential transfer.
Musiala actually spent the majority of his youth career with Chelsea – another big star that the Blues let through their fingers.
At the age of just 21 he already has a wealth of experience under his belt, having played nearly 200 times for Bayern Munich. He has 57 goals and 37 assists to his name for the German giants and already has 38 caps for the German national team.
He would be an excellent addition to either Arsenal or Chelsea in the transfer window and both clubs will be watching contract negotiations keenly. The likes of Liverpool and Manchester City will surely be taking a keen interest too.
Musiala’s current contract in Bavaria runs out in 2026 and there have been plenty of discussions over an extension, although there has yet to be an agreement between both parties.
Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has detailed the problems that remain in place over negotiations. Speaking on his X account, Plettenberg said: “There is still no full agreement between FC Bayern, Jamal Musiala and his management regarding a contract extension beyond 2026.”
Arsenal weren’t expecting a busy transfer market. The Gunners are genuinely not fans of the January window. Internally it is viewed as a reactive rather than proactive period where prices tend to be inflated.
You only need to look at the saga surrounding Mykhailo Mudryk two years ago to know that there is some merit to that view. But then again circumstances have a way of changing things.
Bukayo Saka’s injury has left them short. The England international has either scored or assisted 49% of Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League goals this season and has had a hand in many more. He is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines though.
The blow is made even worse by the fact that Raheem Sterling – who was ostensibly signed as Saka’s back up – is also out for some time. The 30-year-old limped out of training on Friday with a knee problem and is unlikely to be available for the foreseeable.
Marcus Rashford is unhappy that Manchester United sounded out potential buyers for the forward without informing him.
Sources close to Rashford have accused United of informing clubs of the 27-year-old’s availability and that he was unaware of the developments.
United have not made a concrete decision to sell Rashford and well-placed sources say no specific conversations with intermediaries have been held about him, though they concede it is probable Rashford was mentioned given the speculation over his future.
United were prepared to sell Rashford in the summer if there had been a market for the England international, though club figures stressed their preference was to keep Rashford and help him regain form. United received no offers for a player on a £325,000-a-week contract.
Rashford will be made available for transfer during the January transfer window amid the possibility he has played for United for the last time. United have two more games this calendar year against Wolves and Newcastle United.
Tension has mounted between Rashford and United since the start of last season. Rashford was disciplined by former manager Erik ten Hag in October 2023 for attending a birthday party at Chinawhite on Deansgate hours after United lost 3-0 to Manchester City at Old Trafford. Rashford was also dropped from the squad for United’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Newport County in January after he embarked on a boozy bender in Belfast.
One of the subtler developments surrounding Manchester United’s matchday activity against Bournemouth was that the club effectively confirmed their squad hours before kick off.
Clips on MUTV and X, as well as imagery on Getty taken by official club photographers, captured 21 United players arriving at Old Trafford. That is the 20-man matchday squad and third goalkeeper who participates in the warm-up.
It confirmed the only squad change from the midweek League Cup tie at Tottenham was Toby Collyer in for the injured Victor Lindelof. Those of us eagle-eyed to account for every player quickly concluded there would be no recall for Marcus Rashford, and so the news of a third successive squad omission was softened long before the teams were confirmed at 12.45.
Midway through Jose Mourinho’s first season as United manager, he referenced the Manchester Evening News’ squad stories when he confirmed Luke Shaw’s squad inclusion for the visit of Bournemouth in March 2017.
“Luke Shaw is selected for tomorrow so you won’t need to have the guys at The Lowry to take the pictures to see if he’s selected,” Mourinho laughed.
Back when United stayed at hotels (almost always The Lowry) before matches, the MEN regularly did a head-count of who was in and who was out of the squad. That stopped under Erik ten Hag, who ironically requested to resurrect the hotel usage last season but was overruled on budgetary grounds.
Former striker Dwight Yorke has made a compelling case for why Arsenal should deploy Bukayo Saka in a new position.
Saka has developed into one of the Premier League’s most effective wingers over recent years. His mark of 15 goals contributions this term ranks him behind only Cole Palmer (17) and Mohamed Salah (26), irrespective of position. Indeed, Erling Haaland trails that trio with 14 goal contributions in the Premier League so far.
But according to former Manchester United striker, Dwight Yorke, Saka’s future could and perhaps should lay in a central position.
Doing so would see Saka follow in the footsteps of arguably Arsenal’s greatest every player, Thierry Henry, who began life as a left winger at Monaco and Juventus.
“I do believe Saka’s got the potential to play as a striker,” began Yorke. “The reason I say that, is because I started off as a winger. A lot of the great strikers started their careers in the wide areas, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo would be the best examples.
“Playing on the wing is a great place to develop some of the skills that all deadly strikers possess. The ability to beat players with skill, close control, pace – going either way. Thierry, Ronaldo, myself, we all started out there and worked our way in.
Alexander Isak has informed Newcastle United what he wants in order to remain at the football placing Arsenal and Liverpool on red alert.
Newcastle and Isak had been hoping a new contract could be agreed upon, however, that is yet to happen and the 25-year-old has told the club what he wants in order to commit his future to the North East.
The Swedish international is one of the best strikers in Europe and many clubs will be keen to sign him if he becomes available at some stage. Newcastle’s number 14 has netted ten goals in 15 Premier League matches this season.
Alexander Isak’s camp informed Newcastle United that they must be offering Champions League football, according to the Daily Mail. The Swede has been unwilling to commit his future to the club as he has doubts about the Toon’s progress.
Arsenal have made their interest in the striker known and will be on red alert with Eddie Howe’s side someway off getting back into Europe’s elite competition.
Newcastle won’t be overly concerned just yet as he is tied down to a contract until 2028 so they could demand a large fee if they sold him in the summer. The Tyneside club paid a staggering £63 million to sign him from Real Sociedad back in 2022 and he could now be valued at around £100 million add the Mail’s report.
The Gunners are in clear need of an elite centre-forward with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz as their current two options. Arne Slot’s team are also looking for a striker with Darwin Nunez their current out-and-out option to play in the number nine role.
Arsenal are reportedly one of the contenders to swoop in and sign Dani Olmo from Barcelona in 2025, according to reports. Olmo joined the La Liga giants in the summer but financial struggles mean he could leave in the new year.
Barcelona paid £52million for his services after Olmo helped Spain win Euro 2024. The former RB Leipzig star returned to Nou Camp after scoring 29 goals and assisting 34 in Germany.
Following a delay on his debut earlier this season due to La Liga’s strict financial regulations, Barca were only able to register Olmo within the salary cap after the serious injury to Andreas Christensen with rules meaning that 80% of an injured player’s salary can be reallocated for a new squad member.
Olmo’s six-month temporary contract expires on December 31 and there is the possibility that the Spain international could leave in the new year. It’s understood that Barcelona have gone to the courts in search of a ‘precautionary measure’ to allow them to process Olmo’s registration.
Arsenal were previously interested in Olmo before his return to Spain and the prospect of his arrival this year could be quite bizarre. Martin Odegaard remains one of the stars within Mikel Arteta’s team while Ethan Nwaneri has already shown promise.
If there was one player Mikel Arteta probably wouldn’t have wanted to lose right now it’s Bukayo Saka. The England international has either scored or assisted 49% of Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League goals this season and has had a hand in several more through his superb set-piece delivery.
Unfortunately though, the cruel hand of fate has struck Arsenal once again.
Saka has torn his right hamstring. It is the third time the 23-year-old has suffered a hamstring injury this season after limping out of England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece in October and missing the subsequent November international break after coming off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
This absence is compounded by the fact that Raheem Sterling – who was ostensibly signed as Saka’s back up – is also facing a spell in the treatment room. The 30-year-old limped out of training on Friday with a knee problem and is unlikely to be back for some time.
“He’s going to be out for weeks I believe,” Arteta said. “He needs further testing tomorrow to understand the extent of his injury. We have to wait and see another 24 hours. Unfortunately he’s going to be out for a while.”
After back-to-back second place finishes, this may well have been Arsenal’s year and optimists will suggest it could still be, but the Gods are conspiring against us.
While we did forget that Arne Slot was inheriting a bloody good football team, there have undoubtedly been mitigating circumstances for Arsenal’s good but not great 2024/25 thus far. Pedantic red cards thwarted any early season momentum from developing and Martin Odegaard’s injury meant it was a slog of an autumn.
A full-back crisis has been somewhat alleviated, but the Gunners have most recently received the most crushing of blows. Many would argue that William Saliba is the one superstar Arsenal can afford to lose, but that may be because we’re yet to endured an Arsenal team without Bukayo Saka for a sustained period.
Oh, but we’ll soon learn. A torn hamstring means it’ll likely be a matter of months not weeks in regards to his return, and while the majority will be desperate for the club to supply mitigation in the January transfer window, Arteta has insisted his focus will be on maximising those already at his disposal.
Here are three Gunners who must step up in Saka’s absence.
Gabriel Martinelli
We’re going to see plenty of Martinelli down the right over the next few weeks. We saw the Brazilian line up on his ‘natural’ side on the last day against Everton and he switched over to that flank on Saturday in the 5-1 win at Crystal Palace.
It’s not been a good season for Martinelli thus far, but perhaps an altered role and the increased responsibility will be the making of him. The Brazilian’s function would perhaps be more simple and focussed around hitting the byline and teeing onrushing teammates on for cutbacks. Crucially, he must back himself one-on-one.
2.Martin Odegaard
Saka stepped up in Martin Odegaard’s absence, now it’s time for the skipper to return the favour | Alex Pantling/GettyImages
Saka rose to the forefront while Odegaard missed two months in the autumn with an ankle injury. Despite being without his primary supplier, Saka recorded seven goal contributions in nine Premier League and Champions League outings.
He did only score twice during those outings, but there’s no denying that Saka was almost wholly responsible for keeping Arsenal afloat while Odegaard sat out.
Odegaard has all the ability in the world, and in the absence of his partner in crime down the right, now’s the time for him to take charge and ensure Arsenal escape the next few weeks/months unscathed.
3.Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling will miss the next few games due to a knee injury | Justin Setterfield/GettyImages
There was a rare Raheem Sterling sighting during the Carabao Cup quarter-final triumph over Crystal Palace, but the winger wasn’t involved at Selhurst Park at the weekend.
Arteta has since confirmed that Sterling was left out due to a knee complaint, and it may be a couple of weeks before the loanee is back in action again.
The setback arrives a desperately bad time given the latest surrounding Saka. This could’ve been Sterling’s time to roll back the years and supply the required cover for Arsenal’s 23-year-old superstar. I thought there were bright sparks last Wednesday.
