Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has been dealing with a nagging Achilles problem throughout this year, according to a report.

The Daily Mail report that Bukayo Saka’s absence from the England starting lineup against Scotland this week was partly due to the winger dealing with an Achilles problem.

The issue is nothing new, causing him problems last season as well, but it continues to nag at him.

It’s clearly not enough to keep the young winger out of action completely, as Saka came on against Scotland and he’s been playing plenty of games this season already.

But it’s another fitness concern for Arsenal to manage as the season goes on.

As for England, it would probably be smart to save Saka for the qualifiers and give minutes to other players in friendlies.

Over the October international break, England face Australia in a friendly before playing Italy in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

A win against Italy may be enough to guarantee qualification, depending on other results, which would then make November’s games against Malta and North Macedonia a formality.

Arsenal have a tricky run of games between now and the next set of internationals.

The Gunners kick things off with a trip to Goodison Park, which has been a problematic ground for the side in recent years. Then there’s the return to the Champions League against PSV, and the north London derby the following weekend.

After that, Arsenal have away trips to Brentford, Bournemouth, and RC Lens before the visit of Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta will need Saka on top form to get the best out of that schedule.