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Arteta hopes Arsenal star Saka will be fit to face PSG / Photo: © AFP
Arteta hopes Arsenal star Saka will be fit to face PSG
Mikel Arteta hopes Bukayo Saka will be fit for Arsenal's Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain after suffering an ankle injury in Sunday's 4-0 win against Ipswich.
Saka was substituted 10 minutes into the second half at Ipswich and had an ice pack applied to his right ankle as he felt the after-effects of Leif Davis' crude foul in the first haff.
Davis was shown a straight red card and VAR did not intervene with referee Chris Kavanagh's decision after it was adjudged that the Ipswich defender had "endangered Saka's safety".
Saka, who played a starring role in Arsenal's swaggering first half display, played on for a while after the foul but limped towards the tunnel at the conclusion of the game.
However, Arteta is confident the England international, who has only just returned from a near four-month injury lay-off following hamstring surgery, will be fit to face PSG in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on April 29.
"I don't think it is intentional but it was dangerous," Arteta said of Davis's foul.
"I do worry with the numbers that we have right now, especially when the player has his back to goal, because that is the moment when the foot is planted, your weight is there, and you cannot really react.
"He cuts him from the back. The referee made a decision, and that it is clear. Bukayo was a bit sore, but it's nothing serious, so it's good."
Just four days after they sealed their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-1 aggregate victory over holders Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Arsenal maintained the feel-good factor in Suffolk.
The Gunners, who have never won the Champions League, went ahead against Ipswich in the 14th minute when Leandro Trossard converted Saka's cross.
Gabriel Martinelli doubled their advantage in the 28th minute after Mikel Merino flicked on Saka's cross.
Trossard completed his brace on 69 minutes with Saka's replacement, Ethan Nwaneri, adding a fourth in the closing moments.
"We are really happy, really happy with the performance. The first 35 minutes is one of the best we have played this season," Arteta said.
"We really dominated, with a very high intensity and understanding what we had to do to win.
"When they got the red card, the context of the game changed, and we were much more in control, scored another two goals, and were then able to make certain rotations. It was a very positive afternoon."
Z.Phillips--SFF
