Arsenal star Bukayo Saka had to withdraw from the Gunners' game with Nottingham Forest after an apparent knee injury in a clash with Renan Lodi.

With the World Cup just three weeks away, Saka's injury will be a worry for Gareth Southgate with the forward a key member of his squad going to Qatar.

The incident occurred just 15 minutes into the game at The Emirates that Arsenal won 5-0, as Lodi seemed to catch the 21-year-old on the ankle, before he fell awkwardly to the floor on his right knee.

Saka seemed to be in some discomfort and tried to continue playing, but was eventually forced off with the injury in the 27th minute and replaced by Reiss Nelson.


The England man left the pitch and went straight down the tunnel, with both Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Southgate both hoping the injury isn't a serious one for Saka.

'Hopefully not,' Arteta replied when asked if Saka was a World Cup doubt after the match.

'It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning he was limping, but I don't see any further than that. Let's see how he is in the next couple of days.

'He got kicked a few times and he wasn't comfortable.'

The Arsenal No 7 had already had a significant impact on the match before exiting through injury, Crossing the ball into the box for Gabriel Martinelli to head in the opener inside five minutes.

Nelson then added two strikes just after the break, with Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard also netting in a 5-0 victory.

England will already be without Reece James for the tournament next month, whilst there are still injury concerns with Kyle Walker, too.

Arsenal meanwhile will not want to lose one of their key players for a prolonged period of time after enjoying such a successful start to the season.

The win against Nottingham Forest saw the Gunners return to the top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of champions Manchester City.