Bukayo Saka has left the England training camp and returned to Arsenal for further assessment on the injury he picked up against Greece.

The Arsenal winger limped off during the second half of Thursday’s defeat to Greece at Wembley and will not feature in England’s Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday.

Interim England boss Lee Carsley gave an update on Saka’s injury after the game.

Carsley said: “He’s been assessed but in the build-up to the first goal you could see he’d felt something in his leg.”

Saka continues to be assessed by the Arsenal medical team after arriving back with the club on Saturday morning ahead of their Premier League game against Bournemouth in their first fixture after the international break on October 19 – which you can watch live on Sky Sports.

Jones misses Finland trip | Kane and Grealish train

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones is also out of England’s trip to Finland because of a personal commitment.

Jones was a late addition to the England squad ahead of the Greece game but was an unused substitute.

Harry Kane was one of 22 players who trained on Saturday, increasing hopes the captain will be fit after missing Thursday’s game.

Kane could not overcome a knock picked up playing for Bayern Munich in time to feature against Greece and his absence prompted Carsley to deploy an attacking line-up featuring Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Saka, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon.

It backfired as Greece won 2-1 to take control of League B Group 2, leaving England no room for any more slip-ups if they want to win the group and return to League A automatically.

Jack Grealish also took part in training after missing the defeat to Greece.

Another injury blow for Arsenal?

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth at England training:

“Saka will return to Arsenal for further assessment on what looks like a hamstring injury he suffered against Greece.

“It’s not a surprise after the winger was substituted after 51 minutes last Thursday holding his right hamstring.

“A penny for Mikel Arteta’s thoughts.

“The last two international breaks have seen him lose his captain Martin Odegaard with Norway and now Saka, who is probably going to be an injury doubt for the trip to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth.”

Analysis: Saka started season among Europe’s best – any injury is a blow

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

“Arsenal showed through how they reacted to Martin Odegaard’s injury – they remain unbeaten despite losing their captain and talisman – that nobody is irreplaceable.

“But the context that Saka and Arsenal are in right now: losing the England winger for any period of time would be a huge blow.

“The 23-year-old has begun this season with seven assists in seven league games. It is not just the best record in Europe this season. It is actually among the very best starts to the season any Premier League player has had from an assist point of view.

“Arsenal have managed the absence of Saka last season – they played three matches without him and won them all, including a home game against Manchester City.

“But with Odegaard confirmed to be out until November and Kai Havertz having knee issues with forced him out of Germany’s Nations League squad, Arsenal run the risk of being without their key attacking players ahead of a huge game at home to Liverpool on October 27, live on Sky Sports.

“Arsenal can deal with the odd big injury every now and again – but two or three…”

Arsenal’s next six fixtures…

Saturday October 19: Bournemouth (A) – Premier League kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

Tuesday October 22: Shakhtar Donetsk (H) – Champions League, kick-off 8pm

Sunday October 27: Liverpool (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

Wednesday October 30: Preston North End (A) – Carabao Cup, kick-off 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports

Saturday November 2: Newcastle (A) – Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

Wednesday November 6: Inter Milan (A) – Champions League, kick-off 8pm

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Pernille Harder ended her Champions League goal drought to inspire a 5-2 comeback victory for Bayern Munich over Arsenal.

Jonas Eidevall’s side arrived in Bavaria off the back of a disappointing goalless draw with Everton in the WSL – but the visitors struck first through Mariona Caldentey (30).

Bayern responded before half-time through Glodis Viggosdottir’s looping header (43), and the reigning German champions led through Sydney Lohmann’s drive 11 minutes after the restart.

Katie McCabe collected her second assist of the night when Laia Codina met her corner (65), but Harder then wrestled control of the contest in devastating fashion.

The former Chelsea forward, who had failed to score a Champions League goal previously for Bayern across six appearances, headed the hosts back in front from Carolin Simon’s corner (73).

It was the first of three goals in a devastating 13-minute spell for the Dane as the Arsenal defence crumbled late on to increase the pressure on Eidevall.

Harder told Uefa.com: “I’m very happy with our performance, especially in the second half. I think we did really good today.

“The last few years have been tough with injuries, so now I’m just happy to be back playing in the Champions League. I was happy with the goals and the win.”

Problems mounting for Eidevall

Arsenal were knocked out in qualifying by Paris FC last year but, after they navigated fixtures with Rangers, Rosenborg and a two-legged round with Hacken, the Women’s Super League outfit were unable to claim any points from their Group C opener.

It was only the third time the two teams met after their first encounter during the 2022/23 Champions League campaign. Bayern won the first leg 1-0 before Arsenal got their revenge in the return fixture to advance to the semi-final.

They had been held to a frustrating 0-0 WSL draw by Everton on Sunday but Leah Williamson and Stina Blackstenius returned to the starting line-up. On Wednesday, the Gunners needed to reignite that fighting spirit having been far from their blistering best this term.

It was Bayern’s England international Georgia Stanway who went closest early on with a long-range strike which was comfortably saved by Manuela Zinsberger before the visitors should have taken the lead.

McCabe’s superb left-footed free-kick found Codina but her weak effort was simple for Maria Luisa Grohs in the 14th minute.

The visitors continued to press for the opener and did make their dominance count when they went ahead on the half-hour mark.

Once again McCabe was involved as her cross from the left was guided into the bottom corner on the volley by Caldentey.

It sparked Bayern into life and, after Zinsberger had denied Giulia Gwinn, the hosts equalised with two minutes of the half left when Stanway’s superb cross was headed in by captain Glodis Viggosdottir.

Bayern continued to be on the front foot after the break and went ahead when Klara Buhl passed into Sydney Lohmann, who rifled in at the near post in the 56th minute.

Arsenal produced an instant reply as Codina headed in McCabe’s corner nine minutes later but Eidevall immediately replaced McCabe and the away side collapsed during the final 20 minutes.

Harder failed to score in her six Champions League games for Bayern last season but broke that duck in the 73rd minute when she nodded home from a Carolin Simon corner.

It was 4-2 five minutes later when Harder sent another effort beyond Zinsberger from Buhl’s cross before she completed her hat-trick with 86 minutes on the clock.

After Zinsberger had saved Harder’s initial effort from a Gwinn delivery, the ex-Chelsea attacker poked in the rebound to conclude a miserable night for Arsenal.

Eidevall said: “It’s a football game at a high tempo and obviously we’re very disappointed with the result and the way that things turned out in the second half.

“We weren’t good at defending those, and that’s why we couldn’t get a better result today.”

Analysis: A game of two halves

Mark Parsons speaking on Sky Sports News:

“It was a game of two halves. Arsenal started the game really well, the first 20-25 minutes. They had two or three big chances but they only took one.

“At half-time, the goal for Bayern just before the break changed everything for Jonas – it changed the half-time team talk for Bayern.

“From the moment the second half started, Bayern were in a different gear and Arsenal didn’t know how to slow them down. They were creating chances, especially on the transition when Arsenal lost the ball. In the end, the game ran away from them.

“Five-two feels a little bit unfair, but in the second half, Bayern were very dominant.”

Bayern midfielder Georgia Stanway:

“We’ll take each game as it comes. The first one has been successful with the three points and a little bit of goal difference but Arsenal are an incredible team and we’ve still got to play them at the Emirates.

“I had no doubts [when we went 1-0 down]. We’ve been in that situation a few times this season where we’ve not wanted to go a goal down but had to turn it around. We felt we could do that today.

“We knew in the first half that the way we were playing was actually good. Our build-up was successful and we were finding space. The difference in the second was that we managed to get our shots off.”

When are the Champions League group stages?

Here are the remaining dates for the fixtures:

Matchday 2: 16/17 October Matchday 3: 12/13 November Matchday 4: 20/21 November Matchday 5: 11/12 December Matchday 6: 17/18 December

Arsenal’s Black connection continued to grow under Arsene Wenger, another milestone coming in September 2002, when they became the first English club to field nine Black players in a game.

An Arsenal team containing Lauren, Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell, Gilberto Silva, Patrick Vieira, Sylvain Wiltord, Nwankwo Kanu and Henry, as well as David Seaman and Pascal Cygan, subjected Leeds to a 4-1 thrashing that day at Elland Road.

Nwonka points out that, as with the growth of Black Arsenal more broadly, the make-up of the side that day felt completely organic.

“Arsene Wenger didn’t pick nine Black players to make a statement,” he says. “Those were just the best players at his disposal.

“People often ask me if I think Arsenal, as a club, cultivate this kind of Black identity and I always say not really. Of course, they recognise it now and they do things to harness it…”

Nwonka uses the example of this season’s black, red and green away kit, made by adidas and designed by Foday Dumbuya, the founder of menswear brand Labrum, which is intended as a tribute to African icons such as Kanu who helped cultivate the club’s large African fanbase.

“But Black Arsenal has always been about how Black people move to Arsenal, rather than Arsenal moving to Black people,” continues Nwonka. “I think we often flip and confuse it.

“If anything, I would like them to not package it so much. That is probably oxymoronic given I’ve done the book, but the point I make is that it doesn’t need to be hyper-marketed or celebrated because it is going to happen anyway, regardless of whether you make Jamaica away shirts or Arsenal Africa shirts.

“I think the Black connection is something you need to acknowledge and appreciate, but it’s also something you can give space to because it’s always going to be there, to the point where you don’t even really notice it.

“When you go to the Emirates Stadium as a Black person, you’re not consciously aware that you’re in a stadium with a lot of Black people who you wouldn’t normally see at games or sporting events elsewhere.

“It’s just what it is now and that’s the beauty of it.”

Black Arsenal makes no claim that Arsenal are uniquely responsible for driving social integration in English football, or that they are a perfect institution when it comes to the issues of race and representation.

The club’s women’s team have a history of fielding Black players, including Alex Scott, Anita Asante and Rachel Yankey, but there was outcry last year following the publication of a squad photo which showed a lack of Black or ethnic minority players or staff, an issue Arsenal acknowledged at the time.

“I don’t think that was a consequence of any malpractice or wrongdoing on Arsenal’s part, in terms of the playing staff,” says Nwonka.

“But I think the reason it stood out is because, as a society, and given the club’s history, we expect more from Arsenal.

“I think that is something that should be embraced, and I think Paul Davis makes an excellent point when he talks about the next phase of Black Arsenal, in his mind, which refers to the things we can’t see, so the infrastructure, the boardroom, those in stakeholder positions.”

It is a reminder of the work still to do, at Arsenal and beyond.

For now, though, it is worth celebrating the progress already driven by the club, and by the long line of players who have helped to forge its unique Black connection, from Batson, Davis, Rocastle and Thomas, to Campbell, Wright, Henry and Saka.

Black Arsenal, edited by Clive Nwonka and Matthew Harle, is out now from W&N

“Doing it when the team needs it, not when it is 3-0, that is what defines a top player.” That was Mikel Arteta’s verdict after Bukayo Saka made the difference for Arsenal as they came from behind in the second half to win 3-1 against Southampton.

Saka set up the first two goals before adding the third himself in a player-of-the-match performance at the Emirates Stadium that had them lauding his leadership qualities. Asked about that afterwards, Arteta was similarly effusive in his praise.

“For sure, that is the maturity and that is the steps that players have to do. He has been long enough in the team now, he has earned the right to have that role. He believes in that. He has the capacity to change games, to decide games.”

The two assists take him to seven for the Premier League season, clear of Cole Palmer as the most creative player in the competition. There is always a bit of noise in the assist data, dependent as it is on the finishing of others, but the chances created tell a tale.

Saka has not just improved in that regard, he has taken a leap. “I think it is another step ahead from what he was,” acknowledged Arteta. Encouragingly, the number of chances that Saka is creating per 90 minutes continues to increase season after season.

He was brilliant last season and the season before that, but these numbers suggest that he is getting better. Only Kevin De Bruyne has as many Premier League assists over the past three Premier League seasons and even he cannot claim that. This is Saka’s time.

Man City scoring from distance

Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Fulham was far from convincing and required two goals from outside the penalty box to pull it off – but that has long since become a feature of the team whose head coach introduced the world to the phrase ‘tiki-taka’ football.

Pep Guardiola’s City have scored 21 Premier League goals from outside the box since the start of last season – nine more than any other side. It is largely a consequence of their domination, opponents defending deep with lots of bodies behind the ball.

Perhaps surprisingly, 40 per cent of City’s shots this season have come from outside the box. Only Ipswich have a higher proportion of such shots. City still rank fourth for shots from inside the box but are clear at the top when it comes to attempts from distance.

Much was made – in this column and elsewhere – of the number of shots that Ruben Dias had in the second half of their draw with Arsenal. The Portuguese defender had five attempts, with Manuel Akanji weighing in with a couple. It was far from ideal for City.

But it does depend on who is having those shots. Phil Foden has scored six of those 21 goals, with Rodri netting four of them – as many as Erling Haaland. It is an often overlooked aspect of Rodri’s absence. City need players who can score from that zone.

Which is why Mateo Kovacic’s goals against Fulham will encourage Guardiola. He now has three goals for the season, the most he has managed in a decade in Europe’s top leagues, while this was also the first time that he has scored more than once in a game.

Clearly, they cannot count on Kovacic doing it particularly often. But just the threat of it will help. City need the opposition to believe that if they drop too deep then they will be punished. In that respect, the nature of their win over Fulham could prove significant.

Mitoma back to his best

A word for Kaoru Mitoma’s performance against Tottenham, one that Brighton supporters – and indeed Pedro Porro – will not forget for some time. He was instrumental as his side came from two goals down to win 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.

Mitoma did not score but he did help to set up the first two Brighton goals in an outstanding display that harked back to his best form. This was the first time that Mitoma had created three chances from open play in a Premier League game this season.

In fact, it was the first time since also creating three chances against Brentford in December. To better it, you have to go back over a year – to August last season – when he did it twice in a week against Luton and Wolves, scoring a glorious goal at Molineux.

Mitoma has scored only twice in his 23 appearances for Brighton over the past 12 months. But perhaps a reunion with Pervis Estupinan on the Seagulls’ left side will help with that. The pair have started only three of those 23 games alongside each other.

The introduction of the Ecuadorian was an important element of the turnaround, feeding Mitoma for the first two goals. It was with Estupinan behind him – and often ahead of him – that Mitoma produced his best form for Brighton in the 2022/23 season.

The Japan international will turn 28 at the end of this season, which is usually the autumn of a winger’s career. But as a late developer, who was 24 before he even debuted in European football, let’s hope there is still much to come from the marvellous Mitoma.

Previously in The Debrief

GW1: Salah’s sprints, Saka’s one-on-ones, Mount’s pressing
GW2: Calvert-Lewin’s runs, Odegaard’s pressing, Pereira’s corners
GW3: De Bruyne’s position, Gravenberch’s runs, Dawson’s return
GW4: Nuno’s masterclass, Duran’s strike rate, Nketiah’s shooting
GW5: Diaz’s finishing, Traore’s end product, Archer’s issues
GW6: McNeil’s role, Kulusevski’s creativity, Gravenberch’s carrying