David Raya and Declan Rice have sent Bukayo Saka a message ahead of Arsenal's clash against Fulham. The Gunners will face the Cottagers at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening as they both look to climb the Premier League table.
The 23-year-old winger suffered a hamstring injury during Arsenal's 5-1 win over Crystal Palace back in December. Saka underwent surgery a few days later and he's been absent ever since, missing 20 games across all competitions.
As part of his rehabilitation programme, the England international was in the gym during Arsenal's warm-weather training camp at the NAS Sports Complex in Dubai last month. Now, after three months on the sidelines, Saka is back on the grass at the Sobha Realty Centre.
The Hale End graduate announced his return from injury on Thursday afternoon. Captioning a picture of himself at the club's base in London Colney, Sake wrote: "Hello again."
In just a few hours, his post eclipsed 300,000 likes and nearly 20,000 comments, with friends, fans and colleagues rushing to show their support. David Raya. jokingly, said: "Stop wasting my time [hourglass emoji]."
"We ready [love heart eyes emoji]," added Declan Rice. Mikel Arteta will be eager to throw Saka back into the starting lineup next month, with some difficult fixtures coming up.
Shortly after facing Fulham, Arsenal will lock horns with Everton at Goodison Park. Then, the Gunners will host Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal.
On being just five games away from European glory, Arteta said: "We have to value that and recognise it’s very difficult to do. Now we want to make the next step. It’s very difficult but we are capable to do it.
"It is important for us because we want to win - and to win, you have to go through the stages, and because the club needs it. We are a club that want to be the best and want to be competing with the best in the world.
"To do that you have to constantly be there. It’s very difficult but we’ve done it for two years in a row and we have the capacity and ability to do it even better."
When asked if the Champions League could be Arsenal's only realistic chance of silverware this season, Arteta said: "It's a competition that we have a lot of enthusiasm for. A lot of energy, we're very consistent.
"Winning tomorrow puts us in a very good position, that's it. It's not about adding pressure, it's the reality of where we are and what we want to deliver. We are very conscious that the demands of this football club are to reach the highest level and win competitions, that's it."
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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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