Arteta worried as Saka exits with quad injury in Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich
Mikel Arteta said he was concerned after Bukayo Saka was forced off with a quad injury 10 minutes into Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on 21 October 2026, saying "It doesn’t look good at all" and adding that medics were worried about the severity of the problem. Declan Rice’s 82nd-minute equaliser earned Arsenal a point in the match.
Saka collapsed to the turf after a routine challenge with Alphonso Davies, received treatment on the pitch and then walked off slowly; the report states he was moving "in a very limited way" as he left the stadium. Arteta said: "They [the medics] are a bit concerned. A player who has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news. Bukayo did not start the game against Lille last Tuesday, then he started at Nottingham Forest on Sunday and it happened very early in this game."
Eberechi Eze, who replaced the stricken Saka in the 10th minute, gave Arsenal the lead before Harry Kane created an equaliser for Alphonso Davies. Kane then put Bayern ahead from the penalty spot later in the match.
The manager expressed satisfaction with his side’s response after falling behind, and the report says Arsenal showed fight to earn a draw. Rice’s goal in the 82nd minute was described as a deserved leveller.
Arteta warned of the match’s intensity and referenced recent injuries in other high-profile fixtures, saying: "The level of intensity that this game requires, as well, is something incredible. 'You could see it on Tuesday night, the PSG-Barcelona game, what happened [with players getting injured]. This is man-to-man for 96 minutes in every action. There’s no breathing. The stress, the quality, the intensity, the level that you need … it’s unbelievable. It’s the highest level. And those things happen, unfortunately.'"
On the result and his team’s performance Arteta said: "We take it, although that doesn’t mean we are really happy about it as we prepared to win. You could see that right from the beginning – the mindset, the purpose and the intention that the team has, to be very dominant, to come here and cause problems to Bayern. To press them and attack them. That’s certainly what we’ve done. We were the better team in the first 25 minutes, we got the goal … unfortunately we also got the injury of Bukayo, which was a big setback. The team showed incredible composure, the spirit to keep going, to attack them. The finishers came in and made an impact, as well. After scoring the goal [for 2-2], you see the reaction of the team. We wanted to take the ball and go and attack them again to come and win the game."
Rice’s 82nd-minute strike therefore secured a point for Arsenal in the Champions League match at Bayern Munich, a result Arteta said they accepted even though the team had prepared to win.