The international break is a period in which club managers hold their breath, and it is safe to say this fortnight has not been kind to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal so far.
Bukayo Saka faces further tests after limping off during England’s defeat to Greece on Thursday, making him a doubt for the match at Finland on Sunday.
The winger could also miss Arsenal’s first game back at Bournemouth on Saturday 19 October, with Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey both likely to undergo further assessments themselves.
Havertz withdrew from Germany’s squad ahead of their double-header against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee problem, while Partey left the Ghana camp due to “medical issues”.
It could well be that Saka, Havertz and Partey are all fit for Bournemouth, and for Arsenal it could prove beneficial if Saka is ruled out of England’s game in Finland.
After all, the trio have been integral to Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season across all competitions, and more so since losing captain Martin Odegaard to injury at the end of August.
Without Odegaard, Arsenal have won three league games and drawn one, improving their win percentage to 56.5 without him, compared to the 66.4 per cent when the Norwegian starts.
Across his entire Premier League career, though, Arsenal have lost a greater percentage of matches when Odegaard does not start – 30 per cent to 19 per cent – and average fewer goals per match – 2.1 to 1.78 – meaning it is vital the Gunners are not weakened further in attack.
And while Odegaard’s return date remains unknown, having sustained “significant” ankle ligament damage, Arsenal will continued to rely more heavily on Saka and hope his withdrawal on Thursday was merely precautionary.
Saka is comfortably Arsenal’s main creator this season, leading the way in the Premier League entirely with 12 big chances created – Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is second on eight – and he therefore tops the assist charts with seven to Palmer’s five.
That already puts Saka two assists away from matching last season’s tally of nine, which was one behind Odegaard’s 10, enough to place joint-third in the Premier League overall.
Saka has also had the most touches in the final third of any Arsenal player in six of their seven league matches this season, and while Odegaard was second in two of those matches before he was injured, other players have come in to pick up the slack.
Declan Rice has had more of the ball since Odegaard’s injury, the England international second for touches in the attacking third and total distance of carries in the 4-2 win over Leicester.
Rice also carried the ball further than any outfield teammate against Manchester City, this backs-to-the-wall display typified by the fact Arsenal made just one pass into the penalty area, while no player was in the double digits for touches in the attacking third. By way of comparison, Saka led the way with 23 touches in the 1-1 draw of Brighton.
Other players have come to the fore in Odegaard’s absence too, including centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba.
One stat Odegaard ranked in the top two for during his three Premier League matches this season was passes in the final third, and impressively Gabriel topped the rankings in this department with 10 against Leicester, while Saliba was top when playing 13 against Southampton.
Saliba also carried the ball for the furthest distance against the Saints, outlining Arsenal’s relative comfort in possession against lower opposition – despite the fact both promoted clubs gave them a scare.
It has therefore been an admirable team effort to cope without Odegaard, led by the instrumental Saka and aided by a host of players.
That will need to continue for the foreseeable, with the greatest test in the coming month against Liverpool at home on 27 October, a match-up that will tell us where these two sides are at in the bid to end Manchester City’s stranglehold on the title.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/7dcl2Zw
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