Arsenal Faces Saka Injury Blow Ahead of Everton Clash
Bukayo Saka has carried Arsenal through enough tight afternoons at the Emirates. On Saturday, he will not be there to help them.
The winger’s quad injury, suffered in Munich and severe enough to force him off after barely ten minutes, strips Mikel Arteta of his most reliable wide threat on the eve of a game that rarely allows passengers. Everton at home is not a fixture for half-measures, and the tone of Arsenal’s week has changed in an instant.
Saka out, wide options stretched
Saka’s absence is not just about losing a star name. It exposes a squad already thin in the wide areas. Christos Tzolis remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, so there is no safety net, no obvious senior deputy waiting in the wings.
The solution, on paper at least, is straightforward. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are expected to start, tasked with supplying the incision Saka usually guarantees. Both bring flair, both can beat a man, both will be asked to turn possession into penetration. If the game opens up late on, Max Dowman may be handed minutes from the bench, a nod to the future in a match that still demands a ruthless present.
Limited room to rotate
The schedule offers little kindness. Arsenal return from Bayern to the Emirates for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, with a Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood looming next week. The temptation to shuffle heavily is obvious; the reality is less forgiving.
Arteta is expected to keep the spine of his side intact. Everton, physical and awkward, are not the opponents against whom a manager gambles his structure. The bulk of his stronger options should stay on the pitch, even with another competition to think about.
There is, though, one welcome boost. Piero Hincapie is back in full training after an ankle issue and should make the squad. Throwing him straight into a major role would be a risk, and the more pragmatic play is to ease him in now and lean on him more heavily against Fleetwood.
Myles Lewis-Skelly offers fresh legs in midfield if the intensity of Germany starts to show. At right-back, Ben White is in line to return, with Jurrien Timber having completed the full 90 minutes in midweek and unlikely to be asked to repeat that workload so quickly.
Havertz or Gyokeres? Arteta’s awkward choice
The most delicate decision lies up front. Kai Havertz has laboured since the international break, his form dipping just as the season demands clarity. His contribution has not matched his standards, and that is the generous reading.
Viktor Gyokeres, by contrast, changed the feel of the Bayern game when he came on. He offered aggression, movement, and a focal point that asked questions. He did his chances no harm at all.
The pressure, then, would usually point towards a change. But this is where squad planning cuts across simple form lines. Gyokeres looks the more natural starter for the Carabao Cup tie, the man to lead the line in a competition where minutes can be managed more freely. That reality may keep Havertz in place for the league, trusted again to knit Arsenal’s attacking play even as his own rhythm stutters.
Arteta’s priority is control. He will want Everton pushed back, not invited on. That means structure between the lines, security behind the ball and enough guile to turn territory into chances.
Odegaard at the heart of it
Martin Odegaard becomes the pivot around which it all turns. With Declan Rice expected to anchor the midfield, Odegaard will be asked to dictate, to find Madueke and Eze early and often, and to ensure Arsenal do not drift into the sterile domination that can suffocate their own threat.
Lewis-Skelly, if selected alongside Rice, would add energy and bite, a runner who can help sustain pressure and close down Everton counters before they build. Behind them, the back four is likely to be familiar: White on the right, Gabriel and Ezri Konsa in the middle, Riccardo Calafiori on the left, with David Raya in goal.
The predicted XI, then, carries few surprises beyond necessity:
Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz.
On the injury list, William Saliba, Tzolis and Saka remain out.
Kick-off is 3pm BST on Saturday October 24, 2026, at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are favourites, and with reason. Even without Saka, there is enough quality on the pitch to demand three points.
The real test is subtler: can this reshaped attack find the fluency to match the expectation, or will Everton turn a straightforward assignment into another uncomfortable afternoon?
