Ian Wright says Noni Madueke should start on the right flank at Liverpool if Arsenal’s worst fears about Bukayo Saka are confirmed after his injury against Leeds.
Arsenal swept past newly promoted Leeds to win 5-0 and maintain their 100 per cent record in their opening home match of the Premier League season.
Viktor Gyokeres scored a double and Jurrien Timber completed his first-ever brace on a memorable day for the Gunners, which began with Eberechi Eze’s unveiling at a rapturous Emirates.
Saka was also amongst the goalscorers for the first time this term, lashing the ball past Lucas Perri on the stroke of half-time to put the hosts in complete control of the contest.
But after Martin Odegaard was forced off with a shoulder injury, there was more bad news for Arsenal in the 53rd minute as Saka went down clutching his hamstring.
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It was soon apparent that Saka was unable to continue and Mikel Arteta confirmed after the final whistle that the England international had likely sustained a ‘significant’ injury.
It came as some consolation that Saka appeared to have done damage to his left hamstring. After all, it was the forward’s right that required surgery and kept him sidelined for around three months last term.
‘It was a relief to know [it was the left hamstring] because having an operation on a hamstring injury says that it’s very, very serious so it would have been quite disappointing and sad to hear if it was the same one,’ former Arsenal striker Wright said on Premier League Productions.
‘But I’m sure at this stage of the season, second game in, obviously he’s felt something and he’s done the right thing: he’s gone down, make sure you can catch it early and hope it’s not too serious.
‘But hamstring, we’re talking four or maybe six weeks.’
Having come on as a substitute at Old Trafford, summer signing Madueke was handed his first competitive start for Arsenal on the left of Arteta’s attack.
But Wright believes the England winger should switch flanks if Saka is ruled out of the Gunners’ trip to champions Liverpool next weekend.
‘This is why the signings [are important],’ he added.
‘Madueke can play this side and this is why you bring in a Madueke.
‘I’m not saying he’s going to play like Saka, but fill that gap. He plays on that side, that’s where he likes to play… fill that gap until Saka comes back because he’s got a chance now.’
Wright was impressed with the ‘patience’ Arsenal showed in the match and felt, in the end, it was a ‘run-of-the-mill’ win for his former club.
‘If you’re trying to win the Premier League, you have to win all of your home games,’ Wright continued.
‘Leeds coming here off of a decent win at home to Everton, they came to frustrate, and I think Arsenal had to be patient.
‘Obviously there was the chance that Gyokeres missed early on, which was a little bit worrying, but then once Arsenal got control, got the set-piece going, it just looked run-of-the-mill and it was an easy game in the end.’
Gyokeres will be relieved to have opened his account Arsenal after a difficult Premier League debut against Manchester United – and Wright saw signs that the Swede was beginning to gel with his new team-mates.
‘The first goal that Gyokeres scored there, when the ball went inside to [Riccardo] Calafiori, he didn’t even look,’ he explained.
‘So when that happens now, they know he’s going and midfielders will know he’s going so they won’t even be looking, they’ll be looking to put it in there.
‘Those are the things that you’re hoping will iron themselves out over the next few weeks as he gets to know the team.’
On the back of an eye-catching pre-season, 15-year-old Max Dowman further enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a sparkling cameo performance after replacing Madueke on the hour-mark.
And to cap off a truly remarkable Premier League debut, the teenager won the penalty for Gyokeres’ late penalty – becoming the youngest player to win a spot-kick in Premier League history in the process.
‘He’s been doing that in pre-season and he’s not a flash in the pan. We’ve heard about him for many years at Arsenal and we’ve known he’s coming,’ Wright said of Dowman.
‘Obviously in this pre-season he’s shown it and he’s been electric so he’s got his chance and he’s a player with a fantastic left foot, great pace, turn of pace, wants to take people on.
‘You look at both of those guys [Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri], they’re playing in the first-team now, but if their potential is anything to go by then the future is looking good because they’re two exceptional players, making their debuts in and around 15.
‘The promise, the potential, the ceiling for these guys, we don’t know where it is, but the fact that they’re playing in an Arsenal side that are trying to wineverything, at 15, it’s phenomenal, it’s fantastic.’
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