Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta chose not to start Bukayo Saka in the game against Fulham on Tuesday night, deciding instead to place the fully recovered winger on the bench.

Saka had missed Arsenal’s last 12 Premier League matches due to a torn hamstring. During his three-month absence, the Gunners dropped 11 points, effectively ending their pursuit of the Premier League title, especially given Liverpool’s difficulties.

Adding to the challenge were injuries to Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli, yet none of these forwards can replicate the influence that their standout winger, Saka, brings to the team.

Arteta triumphantly declared that Saka was “ready to go” ahead of Tuesday’s London derby, revealing that the club have had to “hold him back” such was eagerness to return at an earlier date.

That air of precaution has extended to this midweek round of Premier League fixtures. Saka was named as a substitute alongside fellow wingers Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling against the Cottagers. While Martinelli took his familiar position on the left wing and Mikel Merino reprised his role as a makeshift striker, Arsenal’s teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri was included in the XI ahead of Saka on the right wing.

The fleet-footed forward celebrated his 18th birthday by making his debut for England’s under-21 side during the international break. Three days later, the prodigious youngster scored his first goal for that particular age bracket in a 4-2 victory over Portugal.

Nwaneri has 15 goals for club and country this season – six more than Saka has managed. However, there is little doubt that the senior figure is still Arteta’s go-to option when everyone is fully fit.

Saka’s place on the bench is likely a consequence of next week’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. The defending European champions travel to the Emirates on Tuesday 8 April before the second leg in Spain eight days later. With the top-flight title effectively decided and Champions League qualification all but assured, Arsenal’s main focus will surely be on lifting their first-ever European Cup. A fit and firing Bukayo Saka would make that ambition far more attainable.

(4-3-3): David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice; Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Martinelli