Arsenal vs Everton: Arteta Faces Selection Challenges Without Saka

Bukayo Saka has carried Arsenal through enough tight afternoons at the Emirates. On Saturday, they will have to manage without him.

The winger’s quad injury, suffered in Munich and severe enough to force him off inside ten minutes against Bayern, strips Mikel Arteta of his most reliable wide threat. It also rips up the manager’s script for Everton’s visit in one clean tear.

Wide Options Stretched Thin

Saka’s absence would sting in any week. In this one, it lands on a squad already light in the wide areas. Christos Tzolis remains out with a hamstring problem, leaving Arsenal short of natural wingers and even shorter on margin for error.

There is, however, a fairly clear response. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are expected to start, two creative, aggressive options who can both carry the ball and break lines. They are not like-for-like replacements for Saka, but they give Arsenal dribbling, unpredictability and set-piece quality.

Behind them, Max Dowman may be the next man up. The teenager is unlikely to be thrown straight into the fire from the start, yet the bench could beckon if the game state softens and Arteta can afford to roll the dice late on.

Rotation Temptation – and the Reality

The calendar offers little kindness. Arsenal come off a draining Champions League night in Germany, return to the Emirates for a 3pm kick-off, and then have a Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood on the horizon next week.

This is exactly the kind of stretch where managers are tempted to rotate heavily. Arteta is not expected to. Everton at home is not the fixture to scatter fringe players across the pitch and hope for the best. The stakes in the league table remain too high, and the mood around the club too finely balanced, for that sort of gamble.

Piero Hincapie is back in full training after his ankle problem and should make the squad. His return is timely, but the plan is likely to be cautious: minutes managed, workload controlled, with a larger role earmarked for the Fleetwood match when the risk is lower and the rotation window wider.

In midfield, Myles Lewis-Skelly offers a fresh, energetic option if legs start to fade. At right-back, Ben White is poised to return, with Jurrien Timber having gone the full 90 in Munich and unlikely to be asked to back that up with another intense outing so soon.

The Havertz Question Up Front

The trickiest decision waits at centre-forward.

Kai Havertz has drifted since the international break. “Below his best” flatters his recent form, yet he remains the man in possession of the starting shirt. Viktor Gyokeres, in contrast, injected life off the bench against Bayern, pressing with purpose and offering a more direct focal point. He did his cause no harm at all.

Under normal circumstances, that cameo might be enough to flip the order. This week, the planning is more layered. Gyokeres looks the more likely starter in the Carabao Cup, a game that suits his need for rhythm and minutes. That leaves Arteta leaning towards continuity in the league, keeping Havertz in place against Everton while Gyokeres waits for his turn in midweek.

It is the reality of managing two matches at once: form matters, but so does the broader map of the season.

Odegaard at the Controls

Arteta will want control first, chaos never. With Saka missing, the responsibility for shaping Arsenal’s attacking patterns falls even more heavily on Martin Odegaard.

The captain will be asked to stitch together the spaces between Everton’s lines, feeding Madueke and Eze and linking with Havertz. Behind him, Declan Rice is expected to anchor the midfield, holding the structure and allowing Lewis-Skelly, if selected, to push and probe.

The predicted XI reflects that balance between caution and ambition:

Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz.

On the sidelines, the injury list tells its own story: William Saliba, Christos Tzolis and Bukayo Saka all out.

Kick-off is 3pm BST on Saturday October 24, 2026, at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are favourites, and with reason. Even stripped of Saka’s cutting edge, they carry enough talent to expect three points.

The real test is sharper than that, though. Can they do more than grind? Can this reshaped front line find rhythm as well as a result?