Former England and Newcastle striker Les Ferdinand believes Bukayo Saka’s injury against Crystal Palace is a blessing in disguise for Arsenal.
The Gunners hammered Crystal Palace 5-1 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus (brace), Gabriel Martinelli, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz.
But the win came at a cost as Saka had to be replaced in the first half after suffering a hamstring injury.
Speaking after the game against Palace, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described the injury to Saka as worrying.
But Ferdinand, a relation to Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, posited that being sidelined this period will afford Saka the opportunity to rest.
“If there was a perfect time to get injured, it would be now,” Ferdinand was quoted on Arsenal News Central. “If he was going to be out for any spell, it would be over this Christmas period.
“You look at the games that they’ve got coming up, no Champions League, gives him a bit of time to rest, we talk about players playing loads of games, I think he hasn’t had a period where he’s been out for any length of time.
“I think if he’s out for a bit of time now, it’ll put them in good stead when it kicks in around January, February time.”
