Mikel Arteta is confident Bukayo Saka will be fit to face Southampton on Sunday after the Arsenal winger suffered an injury scare against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday evening.
The England international has been in sensational form recently and looks certain to form a key part of Gareth Southgate’s plans at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
Saka has been a near ever present this season but his place in the starting line-up on Sunday looked to be in jeopardy after he was substituted with four minutes to go against the Dutch side last night.
Asked for an update on the 21-year-old’s fitness ahead of the trip to St Mary’s, however, Arteta appeared to be relaxed about the winger’s fitness.
He said: ‘I think he’s fine. He was struggling a little bit at the end but hopefully for Sunday he will be fine.’
The Arsenal manager was a little more circumspect when asked whether Oleksandr Zinchenko, who hasn’t played since the north London derby victory three weeks ago, was ready to make his comeback at the weekend.
‘I think he’s close he’s getting better and better,’ Arteta added. ‘He’s progressing really well.
‘He had a bit of a setback on that injury that he had at the start of the season which is a shame but knowing Alex he will be back very soon.’
Arteta also confirmed Gabriel Martinelli, who missed training on Wednesday through illness, is close to full health after he made a late substitute appearance against PSV.
‘He came on, he had a tough week,’ said Arteta. ‘He wasn’t feeling great during the week but the day before the game he was feeling a bit better and that’s why we decided to play him a little bit.’
More to follow…
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