Bukayo Saka is hoping to be involved in the Arsenal squad for the first game of the season against Brentford, after rejoining training this week.

Bukayo Saka returned to London Colney earlier this week following his post-Euro 2020 holiday, and he joined up with the squad for training on Wednesday.

There’s obviously a lot of uncertainty around how ready Saka can be for the start of the season. Unlike some players who have been in pre-season training for almost a month now, Saka won’t even have been back a fortnight before the first game against Brentford.

Yet the Evening Standard report that Saka is hoping to be involved on August 13th. The teenager has undergone his preliminary testing upon his return, he’s back in training, it’s just a race against time to be ready.

I’d say there’s little chance Saka is even in contention for the starting lineup against Brentford. Nicolas Pepe has been playing well in pre-season, so it would be needless to rush Saka into the team anyway.

But even just having him in the squad would be a boost, knowing Mikel Arteta had that option to call upon late in the game if necessary. Whether or not he plays any part against Spurs in this weekend’s friendly will surely give us a hint at his chances.