Bukayo Saka could make his long-awaited return, as he is named on the bench for Arsenal against Fulham in the Premier League tonight.
Saka has not featured since suffering a hamstring tear against Crystal Palace on December 21 that required surgery.
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But the Gunners appeared to receive a boost last week when the club’s official social media channels shared photos of Saka in training.
And Mikel Arteta confirmed at his pre-match press conference that Saka was now in contention to start, though he has opted for a more cautious approach, as Ethan Nwaneri gets the nod on the right wing.
“Bukayo is ready to go,” Arteta said. “All the careful things are already done. Now it’s about putting him on the grass in the right moments. But he’s pushing because he really wants it. We’ve had to hold him back, even.”
Arsenal suffered their latest concern in an injury-plagued season when defender Riccardo Calafiori sustained a knee injury during a nasty slip while playing for Italy in the first leg of their heavyweight Nations League quarter-final tie against Germany in Milan last week.
Arteta said on Monday: “Riccardo unfortunately picked up a knee injury with the national team.
“Really unfortunate the way it happened. It could have been much worse. Hopefully it’s going to be a matter of weeks, but we have to see how that injury evolves.”
Jurrien Timber is available again after illness and starts, but trio Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz are out for the rest of the season with long-term injuries.
Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli
Subs: Neto, Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Jorginho, Gower, Saka, Sterling, Trossard
Date and time: 7:45pm BST, Tuesday April 1, 2025
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
TV channel and live stream: The match is not televised in the UK
