Noni Madueke sends two-word Arsenal message after injury extent revealed

Noni Madueke has sent a clear Arsenal message as he continues recovering from what looks to be a serious knee injury. The England international made a bright start to life at Emirates Stadium but his momentum was derailed during last month's 1-1 draw against Manchester City when he was forced off.

Thankfully for Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka was back on the bench after recovering from his own muscular issue which saw him replace the outgoing Madueke. Without his summer signing from Chelsea, the Gunners boss will have to carefully manage Saka.

His plan for the 24-year-old was on display in Arsenal's Champions League clash against Olympiacos as Saka, who started games against Newcastle United and Port Vale in the previous week, remained on the bench until the 73rd minute. Deep into stoppage time of that clash, he scored his first goal since returning from injury.

While far from a convincing display, it was a third consecutive victory for Arsenal with another clean sheet secured. Madueke being absent has seen Gabriel Martinelli's minutes increase with the Brazil international continuing his great run of form by scoring the opener on Wednesday evening.

Though he is unavailable, Madeueke was at Emirates Stadium and sent a clear message to his Instagram story. Ahead of the game, with a photo showing both teams warming up, he simply said: "Let's go!"

Prior to their second European victory of the season, Arteta was on hand to deliver an update on Madueke after being unable to provide one just a few days earlier.

"He hasn't had a [second] scan yet so he needs to wait a little bit more still with the brace and everything," he admitted at a press conference on Tuesday.

"So he's still in a stage where everything is super protective and once he comes out of that and has the scan we'll have more clarity about it."

Just over 24 hours on from that, Arteta found himself being asked about another potential injury blow with Gabriel Magalhaes substituted after a heavy collision with David Raya. Though he was removed from the game after that, Arteta revealed he had also suffered an issue earlier in the fixture.

"Yeah, I think he's going to be okay," the Arsenal boss admitted. "He felt something, I think it was a kick, I'm not sure, in the first half, and he was a bit uncomfortable, and towards the second half he was there.

"He could carry on, but we decided not to take any, really, because he's played a lot of games, he comes from a long-term injury as well, and we need to look after him."

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