If there was ever an event which had “it’s been coming” written all over it, it had to be a Bukayo Saka injury blow.
Ever since he broke into the Arsenal first team around five years ago, the gifted winger has been an ever-present on the team sheet, even when he is not fully fit.
Indeed, the 23-year-old had never missed more than two consecutive league games during that period – a stat which severely shows how much mileage his engine has racked up at a tender age.
All the way back at the start of last season, Saka had multiple instances where he would hobble off with an apparent injury, everyone would expect him to be handed a rest after that, only for Arteta to surprisingly throw him back into the starting eleven the next game.
One of those incidents came in an away fixture at Bournemouth last term where the forward was withdrawn early due to an injury, before being rushed back into the next game in midweek where he’d once again limp off the pitch with another early fitness blow.
The warning signs about Saka desperately needing a break has been evident for a while and Gareth Southgate’s mismanagement of Saka’s minutes on international duty with England did not help either.
Coming into this campaign, there was an obvious need for a new winger who would reduce the workload of Saka. Despite signing Raheem Sterling though, Arteta resisted the opportunity to rotate adequately, even at times in the second half of games where the team had a comfortable lead.
Some may argue that there is just no better alternative to Saka and Arsenal rely on him too much for Arteta to reduce his minutes.
However true that may be, it doesn’t change the fact that the Englishman has featured in games which were tailor-made as a chance for either Sterling or even the on-loan Reiss Nelson to provide some help on that right wing.
Countless opportunities to rotate and rest Saka were declined by Arteta, and as the rigorous minutes of playing time piled on for Saka, it came as no surprise that a torn hamstring (a burned-out athlete’s most common injury) is what the 23-year-old has now succumbed to.
Perhaps this may be a learning curve for Mikel Arteta, who has proven to be more than a promising young manager, but the mismanagement of Bukayo Saka’s playing time only had one outcome coming… and we could all see it from a mile away.