Arsenal boss Arteta backs Saka call with Odegaard "hopeful" on fitness

05 October 2023 , 03:00

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Arsenal must recover from their first defeat of the season as attention now turns to Manchester City.

The Gunners went down in Lens on Tuesday night, losing to the French side despite taking the lead in their Champions League encounter. Their biggest blow was the injury to Bukayo Saka, which could rule him out of the heavyweight clash this weekend at the Emirates.

Arsenal overcame City in the Community Shield several months ago but lost both games to City last term and will be eyeing a statement win at this early stage of the season. Here's the latest news coming out of north London.

Arteta stands by Saka start

Arteta insists Saka was "perfectly fine" in the build-up before Arsenal's defeat at Lens on Tuesday after the winger limped off again with injury.

It's the third match on the trot in which the England winger has been substituted, having been withdrawn against Tottenham and Bournemouth in recent weeks.

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In his post-match interview, Arteta confirmed that Saka "felt something specific" and "wasn't comfortable to continue". The 22-year-old appeared to be holding his thigh as he was hauled off having also picked up a knock in the win over Bournemouth with issues raised over his workload.

There were fears regarding Saka's availability for the European clash, but after training on Monday, the winger was deemed fit enough to start. Despite going off once again, Arteta has justified his decision to play his talisman, insisting he was "perfectly fine" before the match.

Henry not surprised by Lens loss

Thierry Henry admits he was "not surprised" to see his former club lose 2-1 at Lens in the Champions League, despite the French side being just one point above the relegation zone in Ligue 1.

Gabriel Jesus put the Gunners ahead but a comeback from Lens dealt the Premier League side their first defeat of the campaign in all competitions. The French side, despite their lowly league position, had a stellar home record last term, winning 17 of 19 games.

Henry said: "They fight for every single ball that team. They don't often lose at home and they showed that tonight. They didn't start well this season, but Lens is a very capable team at home... I'm not surprised with the result."

Odegaard hopeful on Saka

Martin Odegaard remained coy on the availability of Saka for the City clash at the weekend and admits any team in the world would miss a player of his quality.

The Norwegian saw his team-mate hobble off in the defeat at Lens with no injury diagnosis yet confirmed. It was a night for forget for Arsenal with Odegaard backing the team to move on and respond against their title rivals.

The captain said: "I think every team in the world would miss Bukayo, but we have to see what happens in the next few days. Hopefully, it's not too bad and he'll be ready for Sunday. Last night was not the best game for us. We have to keep going, we have to learn from it and make sure we bounce back in the next game."