Arsenal have released two sets of training footage ahead of the North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur, neither of which appear to include Bukayo Saka.
On Friday, images of the session from London Colney emerged but there was no sign of the England international. Less than 24 hours later saw the club upload an 'INSIDE TRAINING | The squad prepare for the north London derby' video to YouTube and some of the comments are about the 21-year-old's absence.
For example, with a crying face emoji, ÖZKA asked: "Where's Saka?", Eso Richard said: "Didn't see Saka in training, hope all is well", Augustus Ihuoma was rather worried: "Please where is Bukayo Saka before I lose my mind...?" and OLA-KEWU noted: "I didn't see my star boy B.SAKA."
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Mudryk transfer, FA charges, Jesus and Tottenham vs Arsenal
The reason for the concern is that the winger required medical attention for a knock before being replaced by Emile Smith Rowe during Monday night's 3-0 win over Oxford United in the FA Cup.
Mikel Arteta was, however, quick to play down suggestions of an injury. "Saka is fine", the Spaniard said afterwards and a similar stance was reiterated in his pre-Tottenham press conference on Friday.
A key player for Arsenal and ever-present in the Premier League so far this season, it's understandable that some supporters might be questioning Saka's involvement against Spurs following his absence from training. However, there are a couple of factors that should ease such fears.
One being that the video footage was most likely from Friday's session at London Colney which means the winger could have trained on Saturday. Alternatively, the Gunners' No. 7 may have been present but simply not caught on camera by the club's photographer.
Furthermore, this scenario has been somewhat of a common place for Arsenal this season. In fact, prior to the reverse meeting against Spurs back in October, neither Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney nor Takehiro Tomiyasu were spotted in training ahead of the game.
Yet all four featured the following day in some capacity - the latter pair coming on in the second half - with Partey shaking off an injury scare to break the deadlock en route to a 3-1 win for the Gunners.
And that's not the only time this has happened this season. William Saliba wasn't spotted in any of the pre-match training images ahead of the 3-0 win over Brentford, but was named in the starting line-up and proceeded to deliver an outstanding performance, while Zinchenko was again in this predicament prior to the Manchester United game and he, of course, started at Old Trafford.
Therefore Saka's absence from the training images and subsequent video doesn't necessarily mean he has been ruled out of the North London Derby, but all eyes will be on the Arsenal teamsheet around about an hour before kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
READ NEXT:
Arsenal already in talks for triple announcement with Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer to be sealed
Pep Guardiola makes Thomas Partey 'key' claim amid Rodri, Casemiro and Fabinho comparison
Tony Adams names the one Arsenal player who reminds him of Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit
Penalties, red cards and mistakes: Arsenal must avoid historical blunders in North London Derby
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: The latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
