Arsenal host Everton in the Premier League this weekend, but Mikel Arteta faces fresh selection headaches as concerns grow over star player Bukayo Saka's latest injury

Arsenal's defence of their Premier League crown continues this weekend when they welcome Everton to the Emirates Stadium. But manager Mikel Arteta has some major headaches to contend with.

The Spanish coach's troops are fresh from a hard-fought 1-0 triumph at Nottingham Forest last weekend, having struggled through their recent domestic fixtures, including a 3-0 battering away against Brighton and Hove Albion. The triumph at Forest was followed by a solid showing away at Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek, where they shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

However, despite taking several positives from the encounter, Arteta was forced to contend with another worrying injury setback and a fresh puzzle over how to maximise a major signing who has become marginalised under his reign. Here's all the latest news from the Emirates.

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Arteta urged to switch tactics

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar has suggested Arteta should alter his system if he wishes to extract the maximum from Viktor Gyokeres, reports the Mirror.

The Spanish boss typically utilises a lone frontman in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 setup in possession, seldom deploying two forwards simultaneously, unless his team desperately require a goal.

Gyokeres, who arrived in the summer of 2025 in a £64m deal, bagged 21 goals for the Gunners last campaign. However, the Swedish striker frequently appeared stranded and toothless when operating solo up front, with his struggles in the lone forward role seeing him slip behind Kai Havertz in the hierarchy this season.

Yet Gyokeres' fellow Swede Limpar, who coached him during his early days at Brommapojkarna back home, has urged the Arsenal gaffer to switch to a two-striker system to maximise his attacking arsenal. Gyokeres typically partners Liverpool's Alexander Isak for the national side and has rattled in 10 goals across 11 international outings this year.

"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 ex-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 added: "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."

Bukayo Saka injury latest

Mikel Arteta gave an update on Bukayo Saka following Wednesday night's match, voicing worry about how serious his latest injury could be.

The Gunners star was withdrawn after only nine minutes against Bayern, having fallen to the turf clutching his leg in pain after making a pass.

Eberechi Eze came on in his place and netted just 15 minutes afterwards. However, Arsenal supporters will be dismayed by the initial assessment of the 25-year-old, which Arteta revealed post-match.

"[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 featured in all seven of Arsenal's Premier League matches this campaign but has endured multiple injury layoffs during the last two years. He was absent for 15 fixtures for Arsenal and England last term with different injury problems.

In 2024/25, Saka was unavailable for 25 games spanning a total period of over three months because of a hamstring injury.