Just after half-time in Arsenal's Premier League clash against Aston Villa, Bukayo Saka would have undoubtedly sent significant worry through Mikel Arteta when he fell to the ground off the ball. Arsenal physios immediately ran over to assist and it was clear to see he was in significant discomfort holding his ankle.
The cause of his problem had been prominent for much of the game as Saka was hauled to the ground by Alex Moreno with a nasty kick to the lower portion of his leg. At the time he was able to run it off but the issue began bothering him later in the match and left him in need of treatment.
Gabriel Martinelli was pictured getting ready to replace him, but he was told to remain on the bench with Saka's ankle heavily taped up by the physios.
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Arteta would have undoubtedly kept a watchful eye for the next few minutes over one his most important players to see if he was able to carry on. Surprisingly, with it seeming inevitable he would have to come off, the 21-year-old saw out the remainder of the game.
The relentless fouling of Saka in England's World Cup quarter-final against France, has now made it abundantly clear to all football fans just how much he gets kicked. At Villa Park, the winger was fouled on three separate occasions with a firm challenge from Phillipe Coutinho causing players from both teams to engage in a mini brawl.
After the game, with concern amongst Arsenal fans rife, Arteta delivered an immediate update on Saka which will certainly be seen as good news.
"He’s fine," said Arteta. "He got kicked quite a lot today again. But he’s going to have to deal with that, not every week, but every three days and sometimes in training as well because it’s his game and teams are not stupid and they want to stop him. That’s why we need to protect him."
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