Stats suggest Saka injury return will give Arsenal major boost

Stats suggest Saka injury return will give Arsenal major boost

Bukayo Saka’s imminent injury comeback will give Arsenal a major boost for the run-in, according to the stats around his involvement with the Gunners.

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Bukayo Saka appears to be on the verge of a comeback after his recent injury setback, with a report on Tuesday suggesting that Arsenal were hopeful he’d make his return over the following week.

Whether that means involvement against Newcastle United or Atletico Madrid remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Saka’s comeback would provide a major boost to the team.

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For a start, TNT Sports report that Arsenal’s points per game in the Premier League this season drops from 2.36 with Saka starting to 1.64 without him.

Arsenal had won four league games in a row prior to Saka’s most recent absence, and they’ve lost two in a row without him.

That’s a very significant drop in form, and the Gunners will likely need to average even higher than 2.36 points per game for the remainder of the season if they want to win the league. Averaging 1.64 per game would likely mean finishing well below Manchester City.

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On top of that, Squawka Football report that Saka is the joint leader in Europe’s top-five leagues for English players creating chances from open play (with 44).

Despite Saka missing six games of the current Premier League campaign through injury and playing through pain at other points, he continues to compete at the top of the standings for these kinds of statistics.

Given what Arsenal often appear to lack is open-play chance creation, Saka’s return could give the team just the lift they need.