Will Bukayo Saka play against Tottenham in north London derby?

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said he expects key winger Bukayo Saka to be available for Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

Saka had to come off before the end of Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Oxford on Monday night. And while Arteta said after the game that the 21-year-old was ‘fine’, the Gunners boss reiterated that belief when he spoke to the press two days before the derby against Spurs.

“I think he will be okay,” Arteta stated.

“It’s something that we’ve discussed many, many times," the Spaniard added, when asked if he thought players like Saka need more protection from referees and officials. " I think the referees have a duty to protect the game in general and they do their best to try to do that.

Even though Saka will likely be available for face Spurs, Gabriel Jesus is still sidelined. The Brazilian is not expected to return before late February but there was a positive update on Arteta how he's doing.

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“He’s progressing really well, he’s working really hard, he’s in the right place in terms of the time that we set for him, but he’s still a bit far,” Arteta confirmed.

One player who is back and made his return off the bench against Oxford is Emile Smith Rowe, whose previous appearance for Arsenal was against Manchester United way back in early September.

“It was great to have him back. It’s his first minutes after four months. He worked so hard to be in the position that he’s in today and now we need to give him more minutes in the team because he’s a very important player for us.” Arteta explained.