Mikel Arteta has cooled fears that Bukayo Saka picked up an injury during Arsenal’s win at Ipswich.
Saka was on the receiving end of a challenge from Leif Davis just after the half-hour mark that caught the back of his Achilles.
Davis was shown a red card and Saka was able to carry on, but the England star came off just over 10 minutes into the second half.
The winger had ice on his Achilles while sitting on the bench, and he was seen limping towards the team bus when leaving Portman Road.
But Arteta has cooled fears of an injury to Saka, which is good news given Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final a week on Tuesday.
“The referee’s made a decision that it is clear,” said Arteta. “[Saka] was a bit sore, but it’s nothing serious, so it’s good.
“I haven’t seen the slow-motion [replay], I’ve just seen the normal pace image and yeah, he cuts him from the back.
“I don't think it’s intentional at all, but it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything, because you cannot see him coming.”
Asked if he was initially worried, Arteta said: “Especially with the numbers that we have right now and especially when they are back to goal, because normally it’s the moment when the foot is planted, your weight is there, and you cannot really react to it, but he’s fine.”
Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners over Ipswich and they controlled the game, finishing it with 75 per cent possession.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring and Gabriel Martinelli doubled their lead midway through the first half.
Trossard grabbed a second after the break and Ethan Nwaneri scored Arsenal’s fourth with minutes to go.
“We are really happy, really happy with the performance,” said Arteta. "I think the first 35 minutes is one of the best.
“We could have scored three or four to be fair. Really dominated the game. Very high intensity and understanding what we had to do today to win here.
“And after, obviously, when they got the red card, the context of the game changed and we were much in control, scored another two goals, made certain rotations, so overall a very positive afternoon.”
