Mikel Arteta has described injuries for Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling as “huge” blows for Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge.
Arsenal sit six points off the summit following a 5-1 win at Crystal Palace but Saka was forced off in the first half with a hamstring injury, which has sidelined him for “many weeks” said Arteta in his preview for their home game against Ipswich on 27 December.
Sterling missed the trip to Palace with a knee injury and will too be absent for several weeks.
Saka in particular is a big miss given that he scored five goals and created 10 assists in 16 league appearances, with Arteta believing that his absence will challenge the rest of the squad.
“You just have to see the impact that he has on the team, but it’s going to be a really good exercise for all of us to think about ways to overcome another challenge, because we’ve already had a lot in the season.”
Arteta added that he too will be tested by Saka and Sterling’s absences in terms of creativity.
“We have to look internally at what we have and be creative, do a very good exercise again. How can we mould the squad? How can we adapt to the circumstances and be different?
“We cannot pretend to be the same. We’re going to have to be different and try to find the best way to do it and be very competitive and win a lot of games.”
The Spaniard nevertheless is evaluating his tactical options but has vowed that he and the team will continue “… finding ways and taking it with positive energy.”
One positive for Arteta is that Gabriel Jesus has found form with five goals in the Gunners’ last two matches, but he is keen to see multiple players finding the net.
“The way we’ve done it has been collectively and we’ve been very strong the last few years at scoring a lot of goals from various players and sharing the responsibility across the team.”
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