Sport

Bukayo Saka scores on Arsenal return after injury-disrupted season

Herz — Sport Desk · 27 August 2026 at 05:57 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s second goal in Friday’s 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. The forward is showing signs of returning to form after an Achilles injury in March disrupted his previous campaign and led Arsenal and England to manage his minutes. He still recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 49 club appearances, before contributing three goals and three assists across 357 minutes at the World Cup. Saka said he took only seven days off before returning to training for the new season.

Saka scored Arsenal’s second goal in the 3-0 win over Coventry
An Achilles injury in March led Arsenal and England to manage his minutes
He recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 49 Arsenal appearances
Saka produced three goals and three assists in 357 World Cup minutes
He took only seven days off before returning to training

What happened

Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s second goal in Friday’s 3-0 victory over newly promoted Coventry on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

According to the BBC, the goal added to signs that Saka is returning to form after struggling to consistently reach his best level in recent months.

After the match, Saka said he had taken only seven days off before resuming training because he wanted to be ready for the start of the season.

An injury-disrupted campaign

An Achilles injury sustained in March prompted Arsenal and England to manage Saka’s playing time during the closing stages of the previous season and at the World Cup.

He missed the March international break and seven Arsenal matches before returning to help the club win its first Premier League title in 22 years.

Despite the disruption, Saka made 49 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists. The club’s win rate was notably higher when he played.

Bukayo Saka’s goals and assists for Arsenal last season in all competitions

Goals11

Assists9

Source ↗

Saka was substituted during the Champions League final in Budapest, where Arsenal lost to Paris Saint-Germain, and his performance drew criticism.

Restricted minutes with England

Saka started only three of England’s eight World Cup matches. He played 357 minutes, equivalent to 48% of the team’s total playing time at the tournament.

He registered three goals and three assists, averaging one goal involvement every 60 minutes. His three assists left him level with Anthony Gordon as England’s leading provider at the tournament.

Saka started the round-of-16 win over Mexico and the quarter-final victory against Norway, but did not play in the semi-final defeat by Argentina.

He then scored a hat-trick in England’s 6-4 win over France in the third-place match. The result secured England’s best finish at a World Cup staged outside the country.