Bukayo Saka's Journey: Overcoming Injuries to Return as Arsenal's Key Player

Bukayo Saka has spent five straight seasons in double figures. That kind of return would satisfy most wide players. He knows it is not his ceiling.

In 2023-24 he smashed through the 20-goal barrier and looked ready to plant himself firmly among the game’s elite. Hale End to world stage, with no pause in between. Then came the complications.

While Saka has been fighting to stay fit, a new wave of wide forwards has been rewriting the standards. Lamine Yamal dazzling for club and country before his 18th birthday. Michael Olise emerging as a ruthless final-third threat. Vinicius Junior already operating as a reference point for modern wingers. The bar has been raised, and Saka has been forced to watch too much of it from the sidelines.

Injuries have bitten hard. Across the last two seasons he has missed 40 games for club and country, his rhythm repeatedly broken. Even his World Cup campaign in the summer of 2026 came with an asterisk, his impact dulled by fitness issues that refused to clear.

Arsenal, though, are banking on the version of Saka that terrorised defences two years ago. The one who scored, created, and carried games. The one who looked unstoppable.

Former Gunners striker Alan Smith is convinced that player is still there. Speaking to GOAL in association with BestBettingSites.co.uk, Smith was asked if Saka can rediscover his spark and did not hesitate.

“I don't think there's any reason why he shouldn't return to his best form,” he said. “Injuries just can rob you of rhythm and confidence. But if he gets a good period clear of injury now and he can have a good run of games, you'd expect him to come back up to the levels that he was at. No reason why he shouldn't.”

Arsenal will demand exactly that. Mikel Arteta’s side spread the goals around and have chosen not to overhaul their striking department this summer. Viktor Gyokeres heads into his second season at Emirates Stadium as the main No.9, having scored 21 goals in all competitions last term. A solid haul. Not yet a title-winning guarantee.

Smith knows the pressure that puts on the wide forwards.

“It is so important that Saka can add more goals to the side,” he said. “Certainly, as well as playing well and creating goals, which he's very good at.”

The focus then swings to Gyokeres, a forward who divides opinion but cannot be accused of lacking output.

“Gyokeres, I wondered what was going to happen with him this summer,” Smith admitted. “Something still might happen, but it's his second season and he got into the 20s for goals in the first, all in. So that's no mean feat. Maybe he'll step up.

“I don't think he's going to become a different footballer, a more sophisticated footballer. He is what he is. But maybe his team-mates know a bit more about him now and can service him better. So yeah, keep our eye on that one. But we obviously need a functioning goal scoring centre-forward.”

That last line hangs over Arsenal’s summer like a challenge. They have been heavily linked with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, the Argentina international who left Manchester City and is now on the books at Atletico Madrid. For now, talk is all it is. No deal has been struck.

There has also been noise around the flanks. Reports have suggested Mikel Arteta admires Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, with Arsenal’s name even dragged into speculative links around Real Madrid superstar Vinicius. If any of that interest turns into action before the transfer window closes on September 1, Saka could find himself sharing the goalscoring burden from wide areas with a new arrival.

For Arsenal, the equation is blunt. They need a fit, fearless Saka. They need Gyokeres to be ruthless. They may yet need one more forward to complete the picture.

If Saka shakes off the injuries and hits his old levels, the whole conversation around their attack changes. If he doesn’t, can this squad really carry a title challenge on what it has?