Arsenal’s golden boy Bukayo Saka will return to the Gunners’ London Colney training base after pulling out of the most recent England squad as an injury precaution.
Bukayo Saka will not feature for England and has returned to Arsenal
Arsenal fans will be in the same mindset as manager Mikel Arteta as they keep everything crossed that their stars return from international duty in full health.
The Gunners see their first game back after the international break come in the form of a title showdown at the home of reigning champions Manchester City. Given what is at stake in the clash, Arsenal will need to be at full strength to give last season’s tormentors as good a game as possible.
Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale are all away on England duty. Norway captain Martin Odegaard is also off representing his country, as is first-choice goalkeeper David Raya with Spain.
At this stage of the season, any slight niggles or tweaks could cost Arsenal dearly as Arteta aims to end the club’s lengthy wait for a first league title since 2004. With that in mind, here are some of the main talking points emerging out of the Emirates on Friday, March 22.
Bukayo Saka has pulled out of the England squad
Bukayo Saka has left the England camp as a precaution, in turn prompting fears over his injury status ahead of Arsenal’s busy end to the season.
The Gunners No. 7 will play no part in either of the upcoming friendly fixtures against Brazil and Belgium respectively. The FA confirmed the news in a short statement that read: “Bukayo Saka has left the England camp and returned to his club for continued rehabilitation.
“The Arsenal forward reported to St. George’s Park with an injury and has been unable to participate in training. No further replacements are planned as a 25-man England squad continue their preparation for the forthcoming internationals with Brazil and Belgium.”
Whether the Gunners academy graduate is actually carrying a knock or this is just Arsenal aiming to wrap their star up in cotton wool ahead of the title tilt’s final push remains to be seen.
Wright’s wish granted
Ian Wright admitted he thinks two Arsenal stars should withdraw from international duty this time
Ian Wright has confessed he thinks Declan Rice and Saka should withdraw from the England squad after Saturday night’s friendly fixture against Brazil at Wembley.
Speaking before news of Saka’s withdrawal, Gary Neville told the Stick to Football podcast: “I’ll make a prediction, either Declan, Saka, [Phil] Foden – I’ve got a good feeling that they will pull out of the second game [against Belgium on Tuesday].”
Wright quickly interjected and claimed: “Yeah, I think they should.” In actual fact, Neville’s prediction came true sooner than expected, with Saka failing to feature in game one against Brazil before pulling out.
Gunners hammered by QPR
An Arsenal XI were heavily beaten by Championship strugglers QPR on Thursday
First-team duo Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu were part of an Arsenal side beaten 4-0 by QPR in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday.
QPR, who are fighting to avoid relegation from the Championship, fielded a far stronger team than their opponents and won courtesy of a brace from Michael Frey and further goals from Elijah Dixon-Bonner and Ziyad Larkeche at their new state-of-the-art training facility. Partey and Tomiyasu were the only first-team stars to feature, with the rest of the Arsenal line-up made up of youth talents.