Bukayo Saka sends Arsenal message after Athletic win as injury absence continues

Bukayo Saka showed his support for his Arsenal teammates after their victory over Athletic Club in the Champions League.

The Gunners claimed a 2-0 victory over the Spanish outfit in their first league phase match of the competition on Tuesday evening.

Goals from Leandro Trossard, who replaced Viktor Gyokeres in the second half, and Gabriel Martinelli, who replaced Eberechi Eze, secured the three points for Arsenal.

The result means that Arsenal have now won each of their last two matches while keeping a clean sheet and having scored five goals of their own. The Gunners beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League at the weekend and will now prepare to face Manchester City on Sunday.

Saka did not feature in the clash in Bilbao, having been sidelined with a muscle injury that has kept the England international out for the last three matches.

The 24-year-old did not travel to Spain with the Arsenal squad for the clash against Athletic Club, but was still supporting his teammates. After the final whistle, both Martinelli and Trossard posted on Instagram to celebrate the victory.

"Kicking off the new campaign with a win!! Thank you for the support," wrote Martinelli.

Trossard wrote: "[Champions League] nights are back." Saka showed his support by liking both posts on Instagram and will now be targeting a return to the squad as soon as possible.

Mikel Arteta was asked about Saka's injury in his pre-match press conference on Monday evening, and admitted there was no update on the England international's fitness.

"No, I think there's still quite a lot of things to go through," Arteta told reporters on Monday when asked for an update on Saka.

"It's very early to understand when, which week he's going to be available, but he will certainly be pushing to be available as quick as possible."

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