Reports have revealed that Kai Havertz’s injury has left Premier League teams fearing two aspects of Arsenal’s other attacker’s game, resulting in Bukayo Saka being given more freedom.
The Gunners are currently making strides in the Premier League. After seven games, they lost only one time and won five more games to take the lead.
They drew with Manchester City and won against Newcastle and are looking positive against a team expected to be eyeing a similar position.
Arsenal have scored more goals in the league this season (14) than any other club other than City. Victor Gokeres is the top scorer with three goals, while Saka is one of three players to score two goals.
Reports detail how Havertz’s injury helped the Gunners, although Gokeres, who signed for £55m in the summer, was not actually going to start the season in the top flight.
Daily Mail reporter Ihsan Khan said that had it not been for Havertz’s injury, he would have started the season as Arsenal’s No. 9 instead of Gokeres.
It looked like the Swede needed some time to rest, but the injury meant he was brought into the squad straight away.
And that benefited the other members of Arsenal’s attacking line more than others, namely Saka.
Arsenal sources have reportedly identified that in recent seasons, opponents have pinned down two players on their wingers, leaving others up front free.
Now, Gokeres is a man being doubled up for his “heavy strength and ability to pull defenders out of position with direct runs.”
It is said to “help the team more broadly” and should of course mean more opportunities for Saka to make an impact.
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So far, Saka hasn’t had much of a chance to do more than that. In fact, according to SofaScore, in the Premier League last season, he averaged 43.8 touches per game and 2.4 successful key passes.
This season, he has recorded 40.8 touches and made 1.4 key passes per game.
Still, Saka is a positive influence. In just five league games (the first four) he scored two goals, three of which had a match rating of over seven.
Against Leeds it was 7.6, against City it was 7.4 and against West Ham it was 8.5.
Given Arsenal’s recent encounter with the Hammers, it might be fair to suggest that Saka has had more games and is now more in sync with Gokeres and will continue on his current trajectory as a result.
Read more: Gary Neville, what the Arsenal dressing room is saying about the Premier League title