Arsenal have moved beyond the defensive injury issues that threatened their early-season rhythm, but Mikel Arteta is now dealing with a different concern at the sharp end of the pitch.

The latest blow centres on Bukayo Saka, who has been ruled out after making an injury-free start to 2026/27 following two straight seasons disrupted by lay-offs. His night against Bayern Munich ended after only 10 minutes at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

“It doesn’t look good at all, but we have to wait and see,” Arteta told reporters afterwards. “It’s his quad. It was early in the game, and the level of intensity his game requires is something incredible. The quality, strength and attention you need has to be at the highest level, and those things happen unfortunately.” In an earlier response to TNT Sports, the Gunners manager said it is “never a good sign” when a player is withdrawn because of a “a really sharp pain.”

Saka has long had problems in the thigh and hamstring area, from minor issues to longer spells out. At one point in 2024/25, he missed 99 consecutive days while also being on track to break the Premier League’s single-season assist record.

Arsenal still need more information before they can judge how long he will be absent, but the early signs point away from a quick recovery.

That situation may expose the club’s summer decisions. Arsenal did not add another wide forward, and their willingness to keep moving Gabriel Martinelli on without a replacement could now become a major issue.

The club knew upgrades were needed after winning the Premier League and missing out in the Champions League final. Leandro Trossard, dependable but limited, was replaced by Christos Tzolis, yet that was only part of the wider plan. Interest in Morgan Rogers ended when he joined Chelsea, Bradley Barcola chose Liverpool, and Vinícius Júnior signed a new contract with Real Madrid.

Arteta was clearly not satisfied with Martinelli, who initially resisted leaving. Arsenal wanted to cash in, but without a proven upgrade, the decision may have left them short in a position where options are already limited.

Saka’s replacement in Munich was Eberechi Eze. The 28-year-old, signed for big money ahead of last season, is naturally a No. 10 rather than a winger, but has had to cover on the left after Martinelli’s exit. He scored against Bayern, making it two Champions League games in a row with a goal, yet his overall output remains underwhelming.

Noni Madueke started against Bayern because Tzolis, who is loosely expected back in November, is still unavailable. The England international has also failed to make a strong case, having been used since the international break because there are few better alternatives.

Mikel Arteta has not ruled out sending Max Dowman out on loan, but the Arsenal manager insists any decision will depend on finding the correct move for the 16-year-old midfielder.

So far, approaches for Dowman have been turned down, although Arteta suggested that stance could be reviewed in January. He said the club will continue to assess the teenager at regular intervals before deciding what serves his development best.

“We will evaluate every six months where we are, what is the best thing for him to do and from there make the right decisions,” Arteta reflected.

His reasoning is shaped by several moving parts. The manager pointed to Dowman’s needs, the situation inside the squad, the minutes available to him and the standard of his performances when he does play.

“It will depend on a lot of factors: what he needs, where the team is as well, the availability that we have in the squad, the amount of minutes that he’s playing, the quality he’s delivering when he’s got those minutes.

“We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and impact the team.”

The discussion inevitably brings back memories of Ethan Nwaneri, whose progress followed a different and less straightforward path. Nwaneri broke through at the end of the 2022-23 season as the youngest player in Premier League history, before being sent back to the academy the next year.

He returned to the senior squad for 2024-25 and made 37 appearances in all competitions, helped by injuries elsewhere. But the following season saw his role reduced sharply, with only six Premier League outings in the first half of 2025-26.

That led to a January loan to Marseille at the request of then-manager Roberto De Zerbi, who left a few weeks later. Habib Beye took over and publicly questioned Nwaneri’s “everyday commitment,” while the midfielder finished the spell with only 412 minutes, fewer than he had already collected at Arsenal that season.

Arteta acknowledged the unpredictability of such moves when he said: “There have been many cases of that age that they’ve gone [on loan] and they’ve been successful, some others not,” adding, “Particularly, I think I was 17 when I went to Paris [Saint-Germain].”

Martín Zubimendi arrived at Arsenal a year ago with the look of a shrewd signing, the sort of midfielder who could settle a side and free Declan Rice to operate higher up the pitch. For a while, that impression held. As the season went on, though, his standing slipped, and by the end of the campaign he had lost his place to the emerging Myles Lewis-Skelly.

That has become a familiar theme this season. Zubimendi now finds himself squeezed into a crowded midfield picture, with Bruno Guimarães adding another layer of competition and Mikel Merino’s return from injury making the fight for minutes even tighter. Martin Ødegaard’s strong early-season form has also made him, alongside Rice, one of the untouchable figures in the midfield trio.

The consequence has been limited involvement. Zubimendi has not started any of Arsenal’s four competitive matches this season, was left out of the Community Shield XI and has managed only 72 minutes in total. A trip to Napoli looked like a chance to change that, but Arteta again chose Rice, Merino and Ødegaard, with Guimarães the first substitute from midfield. Zubimendi had to settle for eight minutes off the bench.

Given how important he was in Arsenal’s title-winning campaign, frustration is understandable. He appeared in every Premier League game last season, starting 34, and played 13 times in the Champions League. Yet Arteta has shown he is willing to reshape the squad that ended Arsenal’s 22-year wait, with sales approved for Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.

Zubimendi was linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid in the latest window, though Arteta stressed his value in August.

“Zubi without a doubt was one of the best players for Arsenal last season,” Arteta said in August.

“Without him we would never get into the position that we got in the last few weeks, and he deserves massive credit. He deserves some credit from all of us, all the coaches, myself and especially his teammates.

“We know that without him we would never reach the level and the way that we competed throughout 10 months. At the end, yeah, he didn’t play that much. He still played some important minutes, but he didn’t play that much.

“But no one can neglect the importance of what we did and how important he is for us. So that’s something that’s important to comment because a lot of people end with the taste, ‘No, but this player played in the Champions League final’.

“This guy did it for 10 months. Otherwise, we weren’t here, and we wouldn’t be playing in those finals. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Even with that backing, his situation remains uncertain. If the pattern continues, a January move may become a realistic possibility, with Chelsea monitoring the position after failing to replace Enzo Fernández. A switch across London would not be unprecedented, and Zubimendi’s previous work with Xabi Alonso at Real Sociedad’s B team, along with his description of Alonso as his “idol”, adds another layer to the conversation.