Arsenal in Crisis Due to Gyokeres Injury: What This Means for the Team.

According to The Sun: At the moment when Viktor Gyokeres fell to his knees, holding his head, blood was flowing from the back of his head. The camera, intended for the broadcast, switched to concerned coach Mikel Arteta.

Bandaged and looking like a bad impersonator of Terry Butcher, the Swede continued to play in Bilbao until the 65th minute when he was substituted by Leandro Trossard.

AFPViktor Gyokeres suffered a serious head injury during the match in Bilbao on Tuesday[/caption]

Trossard later scored the second goal in the Champions League match where Arsenal won 2:0, after Gabriel Martinelli scored the first in the 36th second after coming on.

This was an important victory, but it again highlighted that despite spending £250 million on new players this summer, Arsenal and Arteta may have issues with strikers due to yet another injury.

While the Gunners have managed well without injured Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, and also coped without Martin Ødegaard, William Saliba, and Ben White, who have missed several matches.

However, if Gyokeres ends up in the hospital, Arsenal will once again find themselves in a difficult position, as they were at the end of last season, without a main striker, relying on substitutes like Trossard or midfielder Mikel Merino.

This is a strange situation considering the club's efforts to build a strong squad in the summer, but the growing list of injuries could pose a serious threat to the team.

After a 3:0 victory over Nottingham last week, Arteta commented:

“We have already lost Kai for three or four months.”

It is not quite clear whether this refers to three or four months from the knee operation on August 28, or from the present time.

But if Arteta's words are true – which should always be taken with caution, as the Spaniard is not always forthcoming about injuries – Arsenal may not have Havertz until November or even December.

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Then Gyokeres will have to play without injuries and without much rest, as he is still adapting to the physical demands of the Premier League.

This will be a huge load, likely a real test. Especially considering the next week, when Arsenal meets Port Vale in the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, provided that Trossard or Merino can replace him in the match against the League One club.

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The maximum number of matches that Gyokeres has ever played in his career is 52. He is on track to break that record if he continues to play in every game.

If Arsenal reaches the finals in all tournaments in which they participate this season, it will be an impressive 65 matches. And this is considering that international matches will also add to the schedule ahead of the largest World Cup in history next summer.

So perhaps Arteta should be cautious with Havertz and not rush him back, even if it means that Gyokeres stays on the pitch longer than planned in the early months of the season.

If Havertz is brought back too quickly and complications arise, it could become a serious burden for Gyokeres, affecting the team's chances in the title race in the Premier League.

GettyMikel Arteta will be cautious due to a possible injury crisis[/caption>

INFLATION

During the match, Mikel Merino also sustained a serious head injury at the end of their European trip to Bilbao.

They applied vaseline to his wound on the field, and he continued to play.

Arteta commented on the injuries of Gyokeres and Merino after the game:

“I haven’t spoken to them, but I think they are fine.”

The severity of Merino's injury became apparent when he appeared in the mixed zone to speak with journalists, still with a drop of blood on his head.

However, he remained in good spirits ahead of Arsenal's meeting with Manchester City on Sunday. These players are quite strong in spirit.

GettyMikel Merino also suffered a head injury[/caption>

THIS IS KEPA

Kepa Arrizabalaga was at one point unsure what reaction he would receive returning to his former club Athletic Bilbao in the game against Arsenal.

The Spaniard left Bilbao to join Chelsea in 2018 for £71.6 million – still a world record for a goalkeeper, after two full seasons and 54 appearances in all competitions.

However, he only played against Bilbao while on loan at Real Valladolid in the 2015/16 season, where he kept two clean sheets at home and away.

Unfortunately, he did not get to meet Bilbao during his loan at Real Madrid in 2023/24, appearing on the pitch only 14 times due to Thibaut Courtois' injury.

Thus, watching the match at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao was a new experience for Kepa, as David Raya retained his place in the starting lineup.

Judging by what was observed from the press box, there were no loud boos, and Kepa received a completely neutral reaction from fans who do not always hold their former players in high regard.

SunSport also spoke to some representatives of Bilbao before the match, who, of course, mentioned Nico Williams, who had been linked with the Gunners and Barcelona this summer before signing a new 10-year deal in July.

Williams missed the game against Arsenal due to injury but watched the match from the stands, and it seems that a move to North London was never a reality.

GettyKepa Arrizabalaga returned to Bilbao with the Gunners[/caption>

IN TREND

Arteta was very emotional at the press conference before the match against Nottingham when asked about the decision to replace Aaron Ramsdale with David Raya in the 2023/24 season.

Before Raya's 100th match for the club in all competitions, where he achieved his 42nd clean sheet in the 3:0 victory, Arteta joked:

“I was buried in criticism when I signed him!”

Arteta explained that he knew this would happen, as Ramsdale is a good English player and he understands the “context” of how fans really love their countrymen.

Raya joked before Bilbao that he had to play “deaf” to avoid the noise surrounding Ramsdale's departure, but proved that his choice was correct.

This may serve as a good warning for Arteta if he has to do something similar with another English star on his team in the future.

Rumors are already emerging that Myles Lewis-Skelly may be benched instead of Riccardo Calafiori, this season Declan Rice hasn't had the best start, and Bukayo Saka will have to fight to return to the right flank when he recovers from injury after excellent performances from Noni Madueke.

Mikel Arteta joked about his decision to buy David Raya last weekGetty

LOOKING AHEAD

An unexpected presence in Bilbao was Arsenal's youth academy team – U19.

Most of its squad, including 17-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter, were sitting by the press box after losing to U19 Bilbao 3:1 earlier that day.

They closely watched their academy peers who had been promoted to the first team, including 15-year-old Max Dauma, who could debut during the match.

If Dauma entered the field, he would become the youngest player in Champions League history, breaking the record of Youssoufa Moukoko from Borussia Dortmund, who was 16 years and 18 days old at the time of his debut.

He still has time to achieve that record, and it would inspire other U19 boys and the entire academy to strive for such results.

Max Dauma was irreplaceable during the game against BilbaoGetty