Arsenal Face Saka Absence as Arteta Prepares for Everton Clash
Bukayo Saka has carried Arsenal so often that his absence does not just tweak a teamsheet. It rips a hole in the plan.
The winger’s quad injury against Bayern Munich, which forced him off inside ten minutes, has landed at the worst possible time for Mikel Arteta. Everton at the Emirates on Saturday is exactly the kind of Premier League fixture Arsenal usually script around Saka’s relentlessness on the right. Now they must redraw everything.
Saka out, wide options thin
This is not a position of luxury. Christos Tzolis remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, stripping away another natural wide option and leaving Arteta with little cover to disguise the loss of his talisman. There is no clever rotation trick here, no senior winger waiting in reserve.
The solution, on paper at least, looks straightforward. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are expected to come in from the start, tasked with supplying the incision and unpredictability Saka usually guarantees. Max Dowman is likely to be held back as a bench option, someone to unleash only if the game state invites a bolder roll of the dice.
Arsenal will not want to lean on a youngster unless they have to. But with the flanks stripped back, every attacking card suddenly matters.
Limited scope for rotation
The schedule offers little sympathy. Arsenal have barely had time to process Munich before turning back to the Premier League, with a Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood looming next week. Under normal circumstances, this might be a moment for a reshuffle. Everton, though, are not a side Arteta will treat as a laboratory.
The expectation is that most of his core players stay in place. The league still sets the tempo of the season and, with Arsenal at home, this is not a fixture the manager will want to overcomplicate. Strong spine, minimal disruption.
There is at least one welcome boost. Piero Hincapie has returned to full training after an ankle issue and is set to be back in the squad. The temptation to throw him straight into the XI will be strong, but the more pragmatic call is to manage his minutes and look towards a bigger role against Fleetwood, when the stakes are lower and the rhythm slower.
Myles Lewis-Skelly offers Arteta a live option in midfield if legs need refreshing, while Ben White is poised to return at right-back after Jurrien Timber’s full 90-minute shift in Germany. White’s presence would restore some familiarity to the back line and allow Timber a breather after a demanding European night.
Havertz or Gyokeres? The awkward call up front
The trickiest decision sits at the tip of the attack. Kai Havertz has drifted since the international break, his form dipping at precisely the moment Arsenal need clarity in the final third. To call him off-colour would be kind.
Viktor Gyokeres, in contrast, made a sharp, positive impact off the bench against Bayern. He pressed, he ran channels, he asked questions. He did everything a striker chasing a starting place is supposed to do.
On form alone, the argument for Gyokeres is obvious. But selection at this stage of the season is not just a snapshot of who played well on Wednesday night. It is a juggling act across competitions. Gyokeres is the more likely spearhead for the Carabao Cup tie, which may nudge Arteta towards keeping Havertz in place for the league game and using the cup as the platform to reward the Swede’s momentum.
It is the kind of compromise managers make all the time: one eye on rhythm, the other on workload.
What will not change is the centrality of Martin Odegaard. With Saka missing and the right flank reshaped, the captain’s role between the lines becomes even more important. Declan Rice is expected to anchor behind him, providing the security and tempo that allow Odegaard to dictate where and how Everton are pushed back.
Predicted Arsenal XI vs Everton
All of that points towards a side that leans on continuity where it can and improvisation where it must.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz.
Injured: Saliba, Tzolis, Saka.
Kick-off is at 3pm BST on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are favourites, and with good reason. Even stripped of Saka, they possess enough quality to expect three points.
The real test is subtler: can this reshaped attack find the fluency to match the expectation, or will Everton sense just enough uncertainty to turn an injury blow into something far more damaging?
