Arteta’s side missed the chance to go nine points clear (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has confirmed Bukayo Saka had a minor injury issue after starting Arsenal’s draw with Nottingham Forest on the bench.
After watching Manchester City lose their derby with Manchester United in Saturday’s early kick-off, the Gunners had the chance to move nine points clear at the summit of the Premier League against Sean Dyche’s side.
But a second goalless draw in a row means the gap is seven points, offering faint hope to City after their disastrous afternoon at Old Trafford.
Aston Villa can move to within four points of Arsenal if they beat Everton on Sunday.
Saka was left out of the starting XI at the City Ground as Arteta opted to rotate his wide options with Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli coming in.
Saka played 90 minutes against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash on Wednesday with Leandro Trossard playing 67 minutes.
The Belgian replaced Martinelli at half-time as Arsenal chased a breakthroughagainst Forest with Saka also entering the fray just before the hour mark.
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Saka came on with half an hour of the game remaining (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal have another gruelling week ahead of them with a trip to Inter Milan in the Champions League midweek before a rejuvenated United head to the Emirates next Sunday.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta explained he was keen to rotate his wide options but did reveal Saka had a minor issue heading into the game.
‘Yes [they have played] a lot,’ Arteta said of his wide options. ‘Bukayo has played a lot of minutes and as well he had a niggle before the game.
‘So we need to manage our players.
Arsenal missed the chance to open up a massive lead at the top (Picture: Getty)
‘We have some fantastic players who can provide different things and we tried it from the beginning, we tried from half-time and we tried as well to take more risks with those attacking options. We tried in every way but it wasn’t enough unfortunately.’
Arsenal still hold a very healthy lead at the top and with City without a league win since 27 December, they remain firm favourites to win the title.
While they could not secure three more points on Saturday night, Arteta insisted a point still marks a step forward in their bid to hold off City and the chasing pack.
‘Every week is an opportunity,’ Arteta said. ‘We want to win every game and if we had done that we would be in a different position but we made a step, a smaller one than the one we wanted, but still a step.’
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