[](https://i0.wp.com/woolwich1886.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-23-at-8.06.05%E2%80%AFPM.png?ssl=1)
Amidst the orgy of goals that was the visit to Selhurst Park, it might have been easy to overlook the hamstring pull that Saka suffered right around the 22nd minute. He grabbed the back of that leg and limped off, and he now faces several weeks off. Pardon me if I’m guilty of being Panglossian about this, but I see this as an almost unqualified good thing™. After all, we’d become overly dependent on Saka’s assists and overall incisiveness to the point that we might have become almost one-dimensional. The good news is that we have resources and options. We might even find a way to diversify our attack to the point that opponents will be even further flummoxed.
By this point in the season, we’ve all come to expect a very predictable sequence: Saka receives the ball on the wing only to square up against two and even three defenders who dare him to take them on. Sometimes, he does—and succeeds. More often than not, however, he has to make a tame back-pass to reset the attack. It would be wonderful to have Ben White and his underlapping runs available, but we’ll have to wait on that. Ødegaard has been better at making himself available. In the end, though, opponents had long ago decided that nullifying Saka equates to nullifying our attack, and they’re not that far off.
The good news is that, unlike the injury to Ødegaard, we do have options even if none of them is a like-for-like replacement for Saka. Between Martinelli, Jesus, Sterling, and Trossard, we should see any one of them slot in and offer some incisiveness, at least enough to challenge defenses that might try to shift their focus to denying Ødegaard, Havertz, or Rice, among others. These players are going to have to step up, simple as that. No less an authority on teammates deferring to one player than Henry has attested to the idea that too many players turn to Saka to bail out the side. Without him and his _deus ex machina_ impact, the pressure rises.
Jesus, for one, seems ready to rise to the challenge. Whether he continues to play through the middle to devastating effect against Palace twice in three days or finds himself playing wide, he has to be hungry to prove himself and earn minutes on the pitch. Martinelli, Trossard, and Havertz must surely find themselves looking at Jesus’s explosion and their own fizzling performances and realise that Saka’s injury offers them a gilt-edged chance to shine, even if it isn’t at their preferred position.
Those calling for a January signing in response to this injury might want to check in with Chicken Little regarding the degree to which the sky is falling. We scored three of our five goals against Palace after Saka came off, suggesting that we have some adaptability and flexibility already. Keep in mind that Palace had not conceded more than two goals in any match before conceding three against us in the League Cup quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
None of this is to say that any of this will be easy. We’ll have to adjust. One its most basic level, who will take the in-swinging corners from the right wing? Saka’s delivery has been exceptional. Of course, at the next level, there’s the overall incisiveness and explosiveness.
If we’re to have any chance at closing the gap to Chelsea and then Liverpool, key players already in the squad will simply have to step up and prove their worth. We don’t have time to wait until the January window, nor do we have the resources to splurge on a striker whose fee will likely be astronomical. Could we go out on a limb and take Marcus Rashford on loan…with Man U paying the bulk of his massive weekly wages? That’s one option. What of Ollie Watkins or Aleksandar Mitrović? It would be a long shot to see Villa sell Watkins mid-season while Emery has them vying for a European spot, and Mitrović has already signaled his ambition by moving the Saudi Pro League. There’s no fight in that dog anymore.
No. Instead of looking to reinforcements, we may have no choice but to turn to those who are already in the squad until Saka returns. They’ll have to step up, pure and simple. If there’s a silver lining to Saka’s injury, it’s that it’s happened early enough in the season that Arteta can make adjustments. What’s more, Saka can come back after a few weeks to a month rested, rejuvenated, and, at a risk of resorting to alliteration, ravenous.
If we can get through this next month or so, what would it mean for Saka to rejoin the fray after the first real break he’s had in years? What would a rested, fresh Saka be capable of? Opponents should be afraid. They should be very afraid.