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Arsenal latest: Mikel Arteta speaks out on Bukayo Saka as boss told to change formation
Head coach Mikel Arteta of Arsenal FC looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC at Football Arena Munich on October 21, 2026 in Munich, Germany.

Everton's visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday gives Arsenal another opportunity to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City, with Mikel Arteta hoping his side can build on last weekend's narrow win at Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners have struggled to find their best form in recent league matches, but followed that 1-0 victory with an encouraging Champions League display at Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Declan Rice's late equaliser, set up by substitute Viktor Gyokeres, earned Arsenal a share of the points away to the German champions.

That performance has left Arteta with plenty to consider before returning to domestic action. Bukayo Saka's early withdrawal in Munich was a significant concern, while Gyokeres' contribution from the bench has brought renewed attention to his role in Arsenal's attack.

Here, football.london takes a look at two of the latest Arsenal talking points.

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Bukayo Saka update

Eberechi Eze interacts with teammate Bukayo Saka as he walks off the pitch due to an injury during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC.
Bukayo Saka suffered an injury during Arsenal's Champions League clash vs Bayern Munich -Credit:Stuart Franklin - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Arteta expressed concern over Saka's injury following Wednesday night's match. The Arsenal winger was forced off after just nine minutes against Bayern, having gone down clutching his leg following a pass. Eberechi Eze replaced him and scored 15 minutes later, but Arteta's initial assessment of the 25-year-old's injury offered little reassurance.

"[The medical staff] are a bit concerned," Arteta told TNT Sports. "A player that has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news. But we have to wait and see. It does not look good at all. It's his quad."

Saka has featured in all seven of Arsenal's Premier League matches this season, but has suffered several injury lay-offs over the past two years. He missed 15 fixtures for Arsenal and England last term because of various injury problems. In 2024/25, a hamstring injury kept him out of 25 matches across a combined period of more than three months.

Arteta told to change formation

Former Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar has urged Arteta to change his formation to get the best out of Gyokeres. The Spaniard primarily uses a lone striker in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system in possession, rarely deploying two forwards together unless Arsenal are desperately chasing a goal.

Gyokeres, who joined in the summer of 2025, scored 21 goals for the Gunners last season. However, he often struggled to make an impact as a lone striker and has fallen behind Kai Havertz in the pecking order this term.

Limpar, who worked with his fellow Swede during his time at Brommapojkarna, believes a two-striker system would help him. Gyokeres regularly plays alongside Liverpool's Alexander Isak for Sweden and has scored 10 goals in 11 international appearances this year.

Viktor Gyökeres of Arsenal gestures during the UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 match between Bayern München and Arsenal at Fußball Arena München on October 21, 2026 in Munich, Germany.
Viktor Gyokeres has had a tough start to the season -Credit:DeFodi Images, DeFodi Images via Getty Images

"When I see Viktor playing for Sweden, he is much better because he's playing with two up front, and he was brought up in the Swedish system, playing with two forwards," the former Gunners winger told Betarades. "Playing up front on his own is hard for him because it's not his game to be a target player.

"He is good going forward, chasing the ball, and he's a threat on counterattacks, so he needs a player who is a really good target so he can play off them. At the moment, you can see that he's struggling a little bit when it comes to receiving the ball, to pass the ball around.

"It might be nerves, or that he's not comfortable coming off the bench. But you should never ever go out in the press saying that you want to leave or that you want to play every game.

"That's not good for Arteta, that's not good for him, and that's not good for the club. I'm pretty sure that all the Arsenal players are squad players."

Limpar continued: "If you ask me if I want him to play, then yes, I think he should play as a starter. I think he should be a starter, especially now when Kai has struggled a little bit in the last couple of games, but we have to wait and see who is playing the next game."

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