Sweating on Saka
Morning all.
So going into Christmas, we sit in third place in the Premier League table, 6 points behind Liverpool who also have a game in hand. I don’t think we can read too much into their performance and win yesterday, because it came against a team so patently absurd I think there’s a very good case to be made that they should be wound up and put out of existence altogether.
Look, there’s no question Liverpool are very good, and have some fantastic attacking talent, but when you’re playing against a back four and a goalkeeper who wouldn’t be able to keep a clean sheet against a team made up entire of Steve – a one-legged septuagenarian with a club-foot who is dealing with a wicked case of terminal shingles and a dose of the green apple splatters – then you can’t go overboard. Honestly, it was so ridiculous to watch yesterday. Liverpool could have had ten against the trumpet twats.
The Mugsmashers are riding the crest of a wave right now, and they’re going to be tough to catch but there’s still a long way to go and they won’t be playing a bunch of disorganised halfwits every week, so let’s just do our stuff and see what happens. Elsewhere, Chelsea dropped points as Everton Dyched them with a 0-0. I didn’t see the highlights yet, but 25% possession and 30 tackles sounds pretty much like how they got a point from us. I guess Chelsea need a new striker now too.
Anyway, for more on yesterday’s Premier League action, join us over on Patreon a bit later when we’ll have an episode of The 30 for you, rounding up all the games and obviously laughing at the teams who need to be laughed at.
As for us, we’ll wait for an update on Bukayo Saka after his injury on Saturday. Even if the crutches were more about caution than the severity of the injury, the fact he needed them at all doesn’t augur well. A mild hamstring strain is typically around three weeks, but this does look a bit more serious, and it’s not his first one this season so that’s an extra worry. It’s compounded by the fact Raheem Sterling, who is the back-up option (or one of them at least), also picked up an injury this week, so we’ll have to wait and see how forthcoming Mikel Arteta is on both these guys when he meets the press a bit later this afternoon.
It does look as if Saka is going to miss a good chunk of January at least, which means dealing without him for some difficult away games (Brentford and Brighton), cup ties against Man Utd and Newcastle, and potentially a North London derby and the visit of Aston Villa. Suffice to say, the timing is not great.
The wider conversation about what we do in his absence is an interesting one too. First, it’s about how we cope with the players we have. Gabriel Martinelli did well there at Selhurst Park, but how much can we get out of him, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz as our only forward options as we face 10 games between December 27th and January 28th? It’s a lot to ask, and perhaps it might mean the manager giving Ethan Nwaneri some minutes in more advanced positions to provide a bit more depth. He spoke about him playing as a ‘9’ at some point in his future, but maybe some time as a Saka alternative might be on the cards.
Then people will think about the January window and what we might do there. I can’t say I’m particularly confident right now, especially after the update James gave in the new Arsecast Extra yesterday, but it might be a case that circumstances force our hand. If Saka is going to be out for a longer period, and with Sterling’s contribution so far this season a worry anyway, we may have no choice but to try and bring forward something we have planned for the summer. With two players already in on loan, we’re at the limit for loans so the only option is to buy.
The other aspect of that is do you compromise on a player you’re not completely sold on because circumstances dictate? The question of January availability and cost is part of the discussion too, but while it’s definitely more complicated and difficult, it’s not impossible to make an effective signing in this window either. Let’s see how this all plays out, and what we’re willing to do if we need to.
Saka is our most efficient attacking player by some distance, and if there’s one player who can come up clutch in a tight game, it’s likely to be him. So while his absence will be keenly felt because of his stature in the side and everything else, that’s another consideration for Mikel Arteta and those at executive level when we go into this hectic period in the next few weeks. Does this Saka injury bring to the fore some concerns about our squad building that exist even when he’s fit?
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. For some extra reading, Jon Spurling writes about George Eastham here. If you haven’t had a chance to listen already, the Arsecast Extra is below. Enjoy!
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