Mikel Arteta says he's prepared to show Bukayo Saka's scan results to anybody doubting his recent withdrawal from the England squad.
After Saka dazzled in Arsenal’s victory against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Arteta stated that the Gunners would happily "send an MRI" to any sceptics questioning the integrity of Saka's injury.
Dealing with a groin issue from a past game with Chelsea, Saka still managed to score and provide an assist, contributing to Forest’s first away loss of this Premier League season.
That was after Saka withdrew from the England squad over the international break due to the fitness problem.
In defence of his winger, Arteta said: "Well we can send an MRI scan, it's very simple. He hasn't done anything, he was away and needed time to heal."
The Gunners boss also praised the impact of Martin Odegaard in leading the team to their milestone 2000th top-flight win. Arteta said on the transformative influence of the Norwegian playmaker: "Without this kind of player in the team it was always quiet.
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"It doesn't surprise me because I see him every day. When he's in the team, you can sense something that is different.
"There was something different 48 hours before the game too, we had 19 players training and it was so competitive."
Arteta waxed lyrical about the synergy between Saka and Odegaard after their impressive display in a rain-soaked match in north London.
He continued: "That's chemistry, sometimes you meet somebody, straight away you make eye contact and something flows. That's the case with those two.
"That's what's happened, it happens off the field, it happens on the field and with many others as well. That's something in football that is very difficult to say.
"But when you put them together in the right spaces, things flourish and things happen naturally."
"With others, you try to force it and it doesn't work. With these two we are very lucky to have them."
On the topic of young talent Ethan Nwaneri, Arteta emphasised a cautious approach.
"We are responsible for building his career," he said. "We have to do that brick by brick. Now you have to put the cement to make sure the next brick sticks. If we put five or six bricks straight away it won’t work."
Nuno Espirito Santo, on the other hand, had no excuses for his team's performance, conceding: "They played well and we didn't play so well, Arsenal were the better team.
"Second half we became more pressing but they killed us with the second and third goals. There's not much to say.
"We have to improve because we did a lot of bad things - especially with the defending. Losing is always very painful. We came up short."
