Aside from the knee injury Riccardo Calafiori picked up on Italy duty, Mikel Arteta will have breathed a sigh of relief that the first international break of the calendar year did not further decimate the health of his squad. In fact, Arsenal have come out the other side even stronger.
The heavy lifting there has been done by Bukayo Saka, who Arteta insists is “ready to go” against Fulham on Tuesday night. The 23-year-old is in line for a return after more than three months out with a hamstring injury that required surgery and was meticulously managed. He might even start.
