The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Saka

  • Arsenal star Saka injured during England loss to Greece

    Arsenal star Saka injured during England loss to Greece

    Bukayo Saka suffered an injury to his right leg during England’s 2-1 loss to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.

    The Arsenal forward was replaced in the 51st minute by Chelsea winger Noni Madueke.

    Saka, 23, was seen stretching and holding the back of his right leg before eventually sitting on the turf after Greece opened the scoring through Vangelis Pavlidis.

    England interim head coach Lee Carsley said: “He’s being assessed. Obviously in the build-up to the first goal, you can see he felt something in his leg.”

    Read Also: Stunning Saka at heart of comeback win for Arsenal

    The Three Lions were without injured duo Harry Kane and Jack Grealish for the defeat but both are expected to be fit for Sunday’s trip to Finland.

    Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side are already without captain Martin Odegaard, who suffered an ankle injury while playing for Norway in September.

    The Gunners return to Premier League action on 19 October when they take on Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium.

    Arsenal are still waiting to discover how bad the injury is that forced Bukayo Saka out of England’s disappointing Nations League defeat to Greece.

  • EPL: Saka on target as Arsenal claim deserved win over Wolves

    EPL: Saka on target as Arsenal claim deserved win over Wolves

    Arsenal got their Premier League campaign under way with a comfortable victory over Wolves at Emirates Stadium.

    Kai Havertz headed in a first-half opener for the Gunners from Bukayo Saka’s cross from the right, with the England forward adding their second after the break with a powerful left-foot shot into the right corner after the visitors were caught out by a quickly taken free-kick.

    While Arsenal were far from at their best, they always looked in control of the contest and more than merited their win against determined opponents.

    Wolves debutant Jorgen Strand Larsen saw his first-half header well saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

    And substitute Matheus Cunha should have done better with a tame effort straight at Raya in a period when Wolves were chasing an equaliser. 

    However, Wolves boss Gary O’Neil can have little complaint at the outcome, with his side fashioning few clear-cut opportunities over the course of the afternoon.

    BBC

  • Arsenal sweat on Saka, Martinelli against Brentford

    Arsenal sweat on Saka, Martinelli against Brentford

    There has been positive news over both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli this week with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta giving a positive assessment of the duo.

    Saka was taken off at half time of Monday night’s 6-0 rout over Sheffield United, raising concerns over a possible injury. It was later revealed by Arteta that Saka was feeling unwell during the game, so he was taken off to rest.

    Martinelli was substituted just after the hour mark, again raising concerns over an injury and his availability for upcoming matches. It has since been revealed that the Brazilian has a ‘little issue’.

    Arsenal could though be given a double injury boost with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu possibly available for selection against Brentford this evening. That would leave just Jurrien Timber as the injured member of Arteta’s squad.

    Read Also: IWD: we won’t relent in investing in Lagos women, Sanwo-Olu promises

    Both Saka and Martinelli are expected to be fit enough to at least feature against Brentford despite being taken off at half time of the game against Sheffield United. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta gave a relatively positive update.

    “We had Martinelli and Bukayo with little issues. We’re pretty positive that hopefully they can be part of that. But we’ll have to see how they feel tomorrow,” he said .

  • Saka scores twice as ruthless Arsenal thrash Burnley

    Saka scores twice as ruthless Arsenal thrash Burnley

    Bukayo Saka scored twice as Arsenal continued their blistering goalscoring form to thrash Burnley and close the gap at the top of the Premier League to two points.

    Following their 6-0 win at West Ham last week Arsenal were soon among the goals again, captain Martin Odegaard opening the scoring on four minutes with a crisp strike into the bottom corner after Gabriel Martinelli’s pass.

    Saka converted from the spot after Lorenz Assignon fouled Leandro Trossard in the box.

    The England forward got his second just after the restart, latching on to a clever Odegaard pass then cutting inside and rifling a shot into the roof of the net.

    Read Also: Saka scores brace as Arsenal trash Burnley 5-0

    Kai Havertz’s scuffed effort was blocked in the box but Trossard was alert to curl in for his third goal in as many league games.

    Jakub Kiwior’s long throw down the line then found an unmarked Havertz, who ghosted in behind the defence and drilled past home goalkeeper James Trafford to complete a comprehensive win for the Gunners.

    Arsenal, who have 21 goals in five straight wins, move two points behind leaders Liverpool, while Burnley remain in the relegation zone.

    And the in-form Gunners may even have scored more at Turf Moor, with Trossard going close on two occasions before he eventually found the net.

  • Saka scores brace as Arsenal trash Burnley 5-0

    Saka scores brace as Arsenal trash Burnley 5-0

    Bukayo Saka scored twice as Arsenal continued their blistering goalscoring form to thrash Burnley and close the gap at the top of the Premier League to two points.

    Following their 6-0 win at West Ham last week Arsenal were soon among the goals again, captain Martin Odegaard opening the scoring on four minutes with a crisp strike into the bottom corner after Gabriel Martinelli’s pass.

    Saka converted from the spot after Lorenz Assignon fouled Leandro Trossard in the box.

    The England forward got his second just after the restart, latching on to a clever Odegaard pass then cutting inside and rifling a shot into the roof of the net.

    Kai Havertz’s scuffed effort was blocked in the box but Trossard was alert to curl in for his third goal in as many league games.

    Read Also: EPL: Salah scores as Liverpool beat Brentford 4-1

    Jakub Kiwior’s long throw down the line then found an unmarked Havertz, who ghosted in behind the defence and drilled past home goalkeeper James Trafford to complete a comprehensive win for the Gunners.

    Arsenal, who have 21 goals in five straight wins, move two points behind leaders Liverpool, while Burnley remain in the relegation zone.

    And the in-form Gunners may even have scored more at Turf Moor, with Trossard going close on two occasions before he eventually found the net.

    Havertz continually caused problems by picking up pockets of space with his movement off the ball while Saka, Trossard and Martinelli interchanged in the box to regularly threaten.

    BBC

  • Saka ruled out for England through injury

    Saka ruled out for England through injury

    Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka has been ruled out of England’s games against Australia and Italy because of injury.

    Saka missed his side’s 1-0 Premier League win over champions Manchester City on Sunday with a hamstring injury.

    The FA confirmed he has withdrawn after being assessed by England’s medical team and would not be replaced in the squad, which now has 25 players.

    Read Also: Mikel Arteta confirms Saka’s bad knock

    England face Australia on 13 October, before taking on Italy in a European Championship qualifier four days later.

    “No, he will not make it,” said Gunners boss Arteta after Sunday’s game. “He has not trained for a single session.”

    While he would not disclose the likely length of Saka’s spell on the sidelines, Arteta added: “He is not available to play football at the moment.”

  • Saka

    Saka

    Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Bukayo Saka ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Manchester City amid hope the winger will be available for selection for the visit of the Premier League champions.

    Having limped off with a muscular problem in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at the hands of RC Lens, the 22-year-old’s participation in the weekend’s game was immediately placed into doubt as the decision to start him after what happened in the win over Bournemouth ultimately backfired.

    “He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and felt something muscular,” Arteta explained in his post-match press conference. “He felt uncomfortable to carry on so we had to take him off.”

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    The Spaniard also admitted he had no clue if the Gunners’ number seven would be ready in time for the top-of-the-table clash.

    However, in the past 24 hours or so Saka has been included in the England squad for upcoming games against Australia and Italy. This announcement will have provided many Arsenal supporters with hope that the winger would be able to feature on Sunday before heading off on international duty.

  • Mikel Arteta confirms Saka’s bad knock

    Mikel Arteta confirms Saka’s bad knock

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka picked up a ‘pretty bad knock’ during their 4-0 win over Bournemouth.

    The Gunners maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season thanks to goals from Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Ben White.

    The result helped lift Arteta’s side up to third in the league table and just one point behind leaders Man City – however it wasn’t all good news for the Gunners.

    Midway through the second-half, Saka limped off the pitch with an apparent injury and now Arteta has confirmed that the winger took a ‘bad knock’.

    In his post-match press conference, Arteta said: ‘It was a pretty bad knock. I don’t know how he’s feeling now, I haven’t had a chance to speak to him. But hopefully we can get him back.’

    Read Also: Arsenal cruise to victory at Bournemouth

    Prior to the game, Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Saka had all not trained since Sunday’s North London derby.

    Rice has had back discomfort, Martinelli suffered a hamstring injury against Everton and Trossard felt a suspected hamstring strain in training.

    That adds to Arsenal’s growing injury concerns, given the prolonged absences of Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber, and a knock to Fabio Vieira.

    It leaves Arteta with further selection decisions ahead of their Champions League clash with RC Lens on Tuesday night.

  • Saka joins Arsenal’s growing injury list

    Saka joins Arsenal’s growing injury list

    Bukayo Saka has joined Arsenal’s growing injury list after Mikel Arteta revealed the England forward is struggling with a foot problem.

    Arteta limped off in the closing stages of Sunday’s 2-2 draw against north London rivals Tottenham.

    The 22-year-old will definitely miss Arsenal’s League Cup third round tie at Brentford today  and could also be sidelined for Saturday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth.

    If Saka is unable to feature this weekend, it will end his club-record run of 86 consecutive Premier League appearances.

     “He was limping quite badly after the match. We had to get him off the field, which is never a good sign. He hasn’t been able to participate in the session,” Arteta told reporters on Tuesday.

    Asked if he could miss the Bournemouth game, Arteta added: “It’s a possibility, yes.”

    Saka is the latest Arsenal star to catch the injury bug after England midfielder Declan Rice was replaced at half-time against Tottenham with a back issue.

    Read Also: Naomi Osaka: I can’t wait to get started

    Brazil forward Gabriel Martinelli and Belgian winger Leandro Trossard missed the derby through injury, with Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey also sidelined by long-term fitness problems.

    Losing Saka, who has four goals and four assists from the first eight games this season, for a sustained period of time would be an especially painful blow for Arteta.

    Arteta once again highlighted the amount of football being played as a potential explanation for so many injuries.

    “It’s true that they play with the national teams and they’re coming from a season where they had a World Cup and some players played 60-odd games,” he said.

     “We’ve been unlucky. Jurrien, for example, was due to other reasons, while Bukayo was because someone stepped on him.

     “There are some traumatic injuries, others are more muscular. We try to find the ways to avoid them but they’re a part of football.

     “It’s true that we have a lot of internationals in the last few windows and they have quite a lot of exposure to minutes but at the moment we have a squad that is not 24 players. To change 11 or 12 players tomorrow is just not a possibility we have.”

  • Woli Arole casts Yinka Quadri, Saka others in first movie

    Woli Arole casts Yinka Quadri, Saka others in first movie

    COMEDIAN, Oluwatoyin Bayegun better known as Woli Arole who got famous for his 30 seconds comedy skits on social media platform, Instagram, has forged ahead with his career, making a debut as a movie producer. The comedian has paired Nollywood actors, Yinka Quadri, Afeez Oyetoro aka Saka, Samuel Ajibola (Spiff of The Johnsons) together for a cinema movie titled ‘The Call’.

    According to the comedian, the movie which commences shoot from today in Ibadan will be directed by award winning director, James Abinibi and Produced by Felix Olojegede.

    Other actors casted for ‘The Call’ include Kayode ‘Aderupoko’ Olaiya, Segun Arinze, Asiri, comedian Ebiye and comedienne, Etinosa Idemudia amongst others

    Arole expressed confidence that The Call is will be one of the movies to watch out for in 2018 as it is filled with lots of comic elements, not leaving out the key message of the movie.

    The movie reflects around a young man (Arole) and his merry band of ne’er-do-well friends who get into yet another problem after he loses an expensive antique clock belonging to a powerful retired general in the community.

    In his bid to raise money to refund the angry impatient general, he discovers his new talent and soon realizes that with great power comes great responsibility.

    On his venture into movie production, Arole said; “I have been acting before comedy came in and I have been on some major projects. I realized that I am a multi-talented person. I can do well as a standup comedian, I can do well as a skit maker, I can also do well as an actor and I felt that there is a message that I want to pass along to people that skit alone might not be the only expression for it.”

    He further revealed that the movie has been able to gather some sponsors that include leading betting company, Nairabet, the Lagos State Government, Berger Paint and Krystal Digital Solution amongst others.