Mikel Arteta explains how Bukayo Saka's Arsenal absence will make him 'better manager' | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted the challenge of coping without injured winger Bukayo Saka is likely to make him a better head coach.

Saka is set to miss "many weeks" after tearing his hamstring, with reports suggesting he could miss as many as three months as Arsenal seek to manage what is feared to be a recurring injury.

With backup winger Raheem Sterling also picking up an injury in training, Arteta has confessed Arsenal may be forced to dip into the transfer market to help cope without Saka.

Asked whether this latest challenge could make him a better manager, Arteta told the media: "I think so, yes. We started the season with one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League, and we knew that.

"If we have the thinnest squad, what do we need? We really dug into that to make sure that we utilise every player in the best possible potential, and everybody has to feel part of it.

"You need to rediscover players in different positions, and different relationships. It's a really good exercise and the boys are willing to do anything we demand them to do, so that's a really good thing, too."

Arteta has backed the group of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri to help fill the void left behind by Saka on the field, but perhaps of bigger concern could be the loss of creativity that comes with an extended lay-off for the team's top creator.

Saka has ten assists from 16 Premier League games to date, many of which have come from corners. No other player has created more than three goals for Arsenal this season.