Bukayo Saka allayed fears he could be a fitness doubt for England ahead of the World Cup by returning to training with Arsenal on Wednesday, three days after going off injured early in a Premier League match.
The 21-year-old winger was forced off midway through the first half of the 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday after taking a kick to the ankle. The injury came just over three weeks before the World Cup begins in Qatar.
Saka practised at Arsenal's training base ahead of Thursday’s home match against Zurich in the Europa League. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Saka could be in contention to play in the game.
“Bukayo just missed one or two [training sessions] and he was fine today," Arteta said. “We’re using our brains and our common sense, but obviously he had a kick. He was uncomfortable with it. We made the decision to get him off and now he’s feeling fine.”
Arteta was involved in a heated touchline debate with both Saka and club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, and explained Saka was trying to play through the pain before the decision was made to take him off.
“The conversation was easy — ‘He’s in, or he’s out’ — but in between we can’t have a player [injured] for five, six, seven minutes,” Arteta said.
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest ratings
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ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 6, Didn’t have much to do but dealt with anything that came his way comfortably. Reuters -
Ben White - 7, Did the basics well and came up with a big block to deny Jesse Lingard. Came agonisingly close to finding Gabriel Jesus with his flick towards the back post. AFP -
William Saliba - 8, Was authoritative and bullied Taiwo Awoniyi when the striker tried to reach Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass. Reuters -
Gabriel - 6, Did well to stop Gibbs-White’s pass in a potentially dangerous situation but got away with a shocking pass that went straight to Lingard in his own box. Remained confident and made a good header to deal with Serge Aurier’s cross. EPA -
Takehiro Tomiyasu - 7, Defended well and cut out the pass to start the move for the opener. Was unlucky to see his shot deflected off target by Renan Lodi and delivered a great cross for Gabriel Jesus. AP -
Martin Odegaard - 8, Showed a lot of composure and played nice passes, with an example being when he teed up Jesus perfectly for a shot. Did well to keep hold of possession in the build-up to Arsenal’s third and slip Jesus through for another chance, then worked space for himself and fired in the fifth. Reuters -
Thomas Partey - 8, Had a decent shot blocked but was lucky not to be punished for poor passes that went straight to Lingard and Gibbs-White to start Forest moves forward. Played a nice pass to start the move that culminated in a Reiss Nelson goal then scored with a beauty of a strike. Played a nice pass in the build-up to Odegaard’s goal. PA -
Granit Xhaka - 7, Played a poor pass that went straight to Remo Freuler, although he also provided some good moments including the run forward and cutback that resulted in Reiss Nelson’s first goal. Getty -
Bukayo Saka - 7, Delivered an inviting cross to assist the opener. Showed great movement as he was a constant threat before picking up an injury that forced him off under half an hour into the match. EPA -
Gabriel Jesus - 8, Put in a lot of good work, both defensively and in the link-up play, but was wasteful in front of goal at times. Still, he selflessly played the ball to Nelson for his first goal then delivered the cross for the winger’s second, also teed up Odegaard for Arsenal’s fifth. Getty -
Gabriel Martinelli - 7, Conjured a great header to score the opener and had a shot cleared off the line. Often looked dangerous on the left. EPA -
SUBS: Reiss Nelson (Saka, 27’) - 9, Clinically finished at the second attempt to score his first Arsenal goal for two years and double the Gunners’ lead. Added his second with a deft finish then played a perfectly-weighted pass for Partey’s goal. PA -
Fabio Vieira (Martinelli, 63’) – 4, Missed the ball when Nelson’s cross came to him at the back post and was weak at times. Played a poor pass that almost put Gabriel in danger. Tried to get a shot off but it was blocked by Lewis O’Brien. AP -
Cedric Soares (Tomiyasu, 63’) - 6, Did the basics well and ensured Ryan Yates didn’t get a clear run on Neco Williams’ cross. Action Images -
Eddie Nketiah (Xhaka, 75’) – N/R, Had a couple of decent touches but didn’t get the goalscoring opportunity he would have been craving. EPA -
Kieran Tierney (Saliba, 76’) – N/R, Played a lovely switch and did well to stop Brennan Johnson reaching a cross to the back post. AP -
NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Dean Henderson - 5, Was unlucky to see the ball fall at Nelson’s feet after saving his first effort and there wasn’t much he could do for the other goals. Made some good saves to deny Jesus. Getty -
Serge Aurier - 5, Was constantly tested by Martinelli and stood up against the Brazilian well at times. Was sloppy in possession on occasions. AP -
Steve Cook - 4, Was beaten to the header by Martinelli for the opener but made some great interventions to deny Jesus and even rammed his way forward on one occasion. Was wrong-footed by Odegaard as he scored Arsenal’s fifth, then just did enough to stop Jesus reaching White’s flick-on to the back post. Getty -
Scott McKenna - 4, Did well to win some headers in the box but completely sold himself when Nelson scored Arsenal’s second of the game. Was too passive in his defending as Odegaard scored the fifth. AP -
Renan Lodi - 4, Sold himself when Jesus worked space for a shot, but did well to deflect Tomiyasu’s shot off target and clear Martinelli’s shot off the line. Was too weak when coming up against Odegaard in the build-up to Nelson’s second of the game. Getty -
Ryan Yates - 4, Showed heart but couldn’t always keep up and his poor pass started the move that resulted in the opener. EPA -
Remo Freuler - 5, Hit a decent shot that was comfortably saved. Blocked Partey’s shot and held up Martinelli in a potentially dangerous situation but didn’t get close enough to Partey to block his strike for the goal. EPA -
Cheikhou Kouyate - 4, Came close to finding Awoniyi with a cutback but his knockdown soon after went too close to Ramsdale. Had some periods where he won the ball back well and other where he looked completely ineffective. PA -
Morgan Gibbs-White - 4, Tried to make things happen but couldn’t find the pass when he threatened to break through, although he put in a decent free-kick delivery for Kouyate. Was booked moments before half time for an overzealous challenge on Xhaka and was quiet in the second period before coming off. Reuters -
Taiwo Awoniyi - 4, Was given the tough task of trying to almost single-handedly keep the ball from Saliba and Gabriel, a task that he was ultimately unable to fulfil. Reuters -
Jesse Lingard - 3, Was invisible for large periods then almost hit his shot out for a throw when Partey’s poor pass allowed him to break forward. His shot was blocked after Gabriel passed the ball to him in the box. AFP -
SUBS: Emmanuel Dennis (Lingard, 56’) - 4, Couldn’t quite play Johnson through on goal when breaking forward. Took too long when the ball came to him in the box and wasted one of Forest’s best chances of the game. AP -
Brennan Johnson (Gibbs-White, 56’) - 4, Played a shocking pass to start a move that resulted in a chance for Jesus and was very quiet throughout his time on the pitch. Getty -
Joe Worrall (Awoniyi, 64’) - 5, Gave away a foul on Xhaka seconds after coming on but made a good header to clear Odegaard’s cross then slid in well to stop Jesus. EPA -
Neco Williams (Lodi 64’) - 6, Battled well defensively and played a nice ball through to Dennis to create a chance that the striker didn’t take. Made a good burst forward in the final seconds but his shot was a weak one. Action Images -
Lewis O’Brien (Kouyate, 81’) – N/R, Tried to let the ball run through to Johnson but it only went to an Arsenal defender. Did well to block Vieira’s attempt. AP
