Scenes of Bukayo Saka leaving Selhurst Park on crutches will have sent shockwaves through the Arsenal fan base, with only worry and trepidation being felt in response. The winger went down inside the opening stages of the first half clutching his hamstring.
"He felt something in his hamstring," he said in a press conference . "He will have to be assessed. Pretty worried about that.
"It’s difficult to guess now. They have tested him but difficult to say how bad it is."
Arteta has been open about the potential need to strengthen the squad depending on the situation. Both the loss of Saka and add to that an injury to Raheem Sterling nay have just tipped the Spaniard and the club into transfer territory and with that in mind, football.london takes a look at three potential options.
Bryan Mbeumo
The Brentford forward has been excellent for the Bees and Thomas Frank will have been even relieved to shake off the questions over Ivan Toney but the truth is he has perhaps an even better player that again clubs will be looking at again. His speciality this season has been scoring early goals, and this has helped take his tally up to ten for the campaign with three assists.
Playing either off the right or through the middle, Mbuemo could be a very similar type of deal to Bukayo Saka. Plus, when Saka does return, the Cameroon international can offer competition at the centre-forward too.
Jamie Gittens
Next up we move to the Bundesliga but a player whose stock continues to grow like the likes of Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho before him. Nine goals and four assists sees the 20-year-old step up during a challenging campaign for BVB.
Although he typically plays on the left, he has played around a third of his matches on the right, too. At just 20, he offers the Gunners plenty for the future too and when Saka returns, he could be pushing the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard too.
Mohammed Kudus
Returning to the Premier League, and Mohammed Kudus presents as a player who Arsenal have had an interest in during past windows. The Ghanaian has been a real success since his switch from Ajax and Arsenal’s prior keenness in him, meaning there is little reason for it to have waned.
On top of that, Kudus is arguably the most versatile of all the players on this list. He could cover Saka but more so could also move into attacking midfield should Martin Odegaard be missing, switch to the left or even play centrally.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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