Saka suffers worrying quad injury as Arsenal held by Bayern Munich

Bukayo Saka lasted barely ten minutes of Arsenal's Champions League trip to Bayern Munich before pulling up with a quadriceps problem, leaving Mikel Arteta bracing for bad news.

The winger went down attempting a simple pass with no opponent near him at the Allianz Arena, reaching for his thigh before being helped from the pitch.

Arteta later conceded the issue did not look good at all, with Arsenal now waiting on medical examinations to confirm how serious the injury is.

"They are a bit concerned," the head coach told TNT Sports. "A player who has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news but we have to wait and see."

Eberechi Eze came on in Saka's place and made an instant impact, breaking the deadlock for Arsenal midway through the first half.

Bayern hit back through Alphonso Davies before Harry Kane converted a penalty to put the hosts ahead, only for Declan Rice to force a 2-2 draw with an 82nd-minute equaliser.

Saka's withdrawal continues a troubled run of injuries for the 25-year-old, who had already seen his workload carefully managed towards the end of last season and at the World Cup because of an Achilles problem first sustained in March.

That issue cost him the March international break and seven matches for Arsenal, though he returned in time to help the club win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.

He started last season's Champions League final defeat by Paris St-Germain but was taken off after 54 minutes, and at the World Cup he started only three of England's eight fixtures, among them a match in which he struck three goals as England beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off.

Saka also underwent surgery on a hamstring injury suffered in December 2024, which ruled him out for 101 days during the 2024-25 campaign, and he still made 49 appearances in the title-winning season despite a hip problem that forced him to withdraw from the warm-up before facing Leeds in January and a separate hamstring issue that sidelined him for around four weeks.

According to the BBC, Arsenal's winning record is markedly stronger with Saka in the side, underlining how significant his absence would be if this latest setback keeps him out for any length of time.

He has scored four goals in 11 appearances across all competitions so far this season, making him one of Arteta's most important attacking outlets.

With Saka off the pitch in Munich, Noni Madueke switched to the right flank while Eze operated on the opposite side, and both offered encouraging signs in his absence.

Teenage forward Max Dowman is also available to Arteta as an attacking option, giving the Arsenal manager alternatives while he waits to discover the extent of Saka's injury.

Arsenal will learn more in the coming days as to whether their key winger faces a short lay-off or a longer spell on the sidelines.