“There was no point pushing him” - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta explains decision to drop Bukayo Saka from squad to face Bournemouth

Mikel Arteta has revealed that Arsenal did not want to risk Bukayo Saka for their Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Saturday, October 19. The Spaniard said that they tried to get the Englishman fit, but decided not to push him.

Speaking to the media minutes before kick-off at the Vitality Stadium, Arteta confirmed that Saka was racing against time to get fit for the match. However, the Englishman was not feeling right and was thus left out of the squad. He said via Evening Standard:

"We tried the last few days but he didn't have the right feeling. There was no point pushing him and we have very good options as well."

In his pre-match press conference earlier this week, Arteta confirmed that Saka had not suffered a serious injury. He added that the winger was training and was keen on getting back on the pitch. He said:

"It's not a serious injury. He's evolving really well. He's done a few things in the last two days. He wasn't fit enough to play with the national team the second game but we are hopeful. We have a training session this afternoon, he did some bits yesterday, so let's see if he can make it on time."

Bukayo Saka was injured on international duty and missed England's win over Finland. He had come off with an injured right leg in the second half of the Three Lions' 2-1 loss to Greece.

---

Two Arsenal players feature against Bournemouth despite being doubtful

Arsenal were also sweating on the fitness of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of their match against Bournemouth. Mikel Arteta spoke about the German, who sat out of the national team this month due to a knee injury and said via Arsenal.com:

"He had a few issues and we've been dealing with that. He's been absolutely brilliant, he has very good communication with the national team, with the manager. They understood the situation, we modified everything that we could do here and again if he trains well today he's got a good chance to be fit and available."

Martinelli was also a doubt just being on the bench for Brazil against Peru earlier this week. The manager spoke about the Brazilian winger and said:

"Well with Gabby he landed yesterday afternoon here so we have very short time to be with him. Yesterday he went outside to do a little bit and see how he's feeling. Again today will be another step to understand whether we want to take the risk if he's fit because I know what the player is going to say - 'I'm going to be fit for sure'."

However, Havertz started the match for Arsenal against AFC Bournemouth. Martinelli came off the bench for the Gunners, and they were training 2-0 with 12 minutes to go at the time of writing.