Elye Wahi scored in the second half to give Lens a 2-1 victory.
As the Arsenal winger hobbled off the field during their Champions League loss to Lens, Mikel Arteta justified his choice to start Bukayo Saka.
Gabriel Jesus had given the Gunners the lead, but Adrien Thomasson tied the score after David Raya slipped, and Saka eventually left the match with a limp.
Elye Wahi’s goal in the second half gave Lens the advantage they needed to win 2-1, but Arteta was more worried about Saka’s injury.
In five days, the defending Premier League winners Manchester City will play at the Emirates Stadium, and Saka’s participation is now in doubt due to the forward’s recent three game-ending injuries.
When asked if he regretted selecting Saka in light of his struggles against Bournemouth and Tottenham, Arteta said, “No. He recently received a knock, yet he was unharmed by it. It was a back-heel, which can result in that kind of damage.
Then it will be too late, so let’s find out how bad it is. The most recent ones mainly consisted of blows.
“He actually hasn’t been missing games. The only break we provided him was last week’s Carabao Cup match against Brentford.
In the first half, he attempted to backheel a ball and felt a muscular pain. We had to remove him since it seemed awkward for him to continue.
“We have no other information. It was large enough to prevent him from continuing the game, which causes us concern.
“Like any athlete, he was eager to begin playing. Champions League night was a huge one. They were all aware of the scenario I had described and the type of situation we would be facing today.
But winning the Champions League away from home is extremely challenging. We learn a valuable lesson today.
After poor weather on Monday kept Arteta and his players at Luton airport for five hours as their flight to France was delayed, the loss put an end to a forgettable 24 hours for Arsenal.
After a difficult night at a rocking Stade Bollaert-Delelis, their hopes of avoiding a bumpy ride in qualifying for the knockout stages have now also suffered a setback.
When questioned if the team’s bad performance was due to the game preparations, Arteta responded, “No, let’s not put excuses.”
“Let me start by congratulating Lens. They are an excellent side. excellent coaching. We anticipated that the contest would be very challenging.
“In the boxes, we had four or five opportunities that we didn’t convert on, and we didn’t adequately defend the boxes.
“It’s true that there were times in the second half when we found it difficult to be more threatening in the final third and find openings.
“With those numbers, they defended pretty well. For the following game, remember that.
Despite a sluggish start to the season, Lens won both of their Ligue 1 contests before hosting the Champions League for the first time in 21 years. Defender Kevin Danso was happy with the outcome.
In front of our own fans, we gave it everything today, he remarked.
Arsenal had a lot of skill and forced us to sit back quite deeply, but we continued to defend and maintained our focus. Luckily, we prevailed.
“At home, in front of our supporters, we are confident in our strength. We always strive to achieve this goal of home victory. Although I’m a little bummed about the clean sheet, we will unquestionably accept the three points.
