rewrite this title Arsenal suffer huge injury blow as star forward limps off against Crystal Palace

Arsenal conceded once and could have shipped another but the biggest blow in a blistering opening 25 minutes against Crystal Palace was an injury to Bukayo Saka.

The durable winger has started 16 of Arsenal’s 17 top-flight matches this season, only sitting out a trip to Bournemouth in October. The Gunners lost 2-0 in his absence.

Saka is no stranger to an aggressive approach from opposition defenders, spending large swathes of each contest wincing on the turf. However, the 23-year-old invariably returns to his feet, often singlehandedly leading Arsenal’s attacking thrusts.

During a chaotic contest which saw Gabriel Jesus twice fire the visitors in front on either side of an equaliser from Ismaila Sarr, Saka only had time to attempt three passes. The last of those picked out Martin Odegaard in Palace’s box, but came at the expense of an injury.

Following a challenge from left-back Tyrick Mitchell as he tried to block the forward’s cutback, Saka remained grounded and was seen holding his hamstring. After a surprisingly brief inspection from Arsenal’s medical department, Arteta was forced to remove his star player in the 25th minute.

Leandro Trossard made his way onto the pitch as Saka’s replacement, but offers nowhere near the same guarantee of end product. Ahead of Saturday’s fixture, Saka boasted a team-high five top-flight goals and division-leading ten assists.

Despite the festive flood of fixtures, there is some time for Saka to recover. Arsenal are next in action against promoted strugglers Ipswich Town at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, 27 December. The Gunners then travel to Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on New Year’s Day before a difficult trip to Brighton on 4 January.

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