Bukayo Saka’s imminent injury comeback will give Arsenal a major boost for the run-in, according to the stats around his involvement with the Gunners.
Bukayo Saka appears to be on the verge of a comeback after his recent injury setback, with a report on Tuesday suggesting that Arsenal were hopeful he’d make his return over the following week.
Whether that means involvement against Newcastle United or Atletico Madrid remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Saka’s comeback would provide a major boost to the team.
For a start, TNT Sports report that Arsenal’s points per game in the Premier League this season drops from 2.36 with Saka starting to 1.64 without him.
Arsenal had won four league games in a row prior to Saka’s most recent absence, and they’ve lost two in a row without him.
That’s a very significant drop in form, and the Gunners will likely need to average even higher than 2.36 points per game for the remainder of the season if they want to win the league. Averaging 1.64 per game would likely mean finishing well below Manchester City.
On top of that, Squawka Football report that Saka is the joint leader in Europe’s top-five leagues for English players creating chances from open play (with 44).
Despite Saka missing six games of the current Premier League campaign through injury and playing through pain at other points, he continues to compete at the top of the standings for these kinds of statistics.
Given what Arsenal often appear to lack is open-play chance creation, Saka’s return could give the team just the lift they need.
- Arsenal 25yo to start World Cup last-32 match amid injury concernsWilliam Saliba will have one last pre-match fitness test, but he’s expected to start France’s World Cup last-32 game against Sweden and Viktor Gyokeres.
- Injury impacting Arsenal 28yo’s transfer statusBen White’s injury continues to cloud his future, despite interest from multiple Premier League clubs, according to a report.
- Gyokeres reacts to facing Saliba in World Cup knockoutsViktor Gyokeres is looking forward to playing against William Saliba on Tuesday, and he believes Sweden can cause an upset in their World Cup last-32 match.
- Does Arsenal transfer target have £60m release clause?Bruno Guimaraes may have a release clause in his contract with Newcastle United, but not all sources are in agreement on that front.
- Arsenal target’s club want loan back for 1 seasonArsenal are one of the clubs in the race to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi, but Lille are pushing for a sale with a one-year loan back to the club for next season.