Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury.

The England international had been involved in Gabriel Jesus' opening goal of Arsenal's 5-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, before pulling up while to deliver a cross in the 24th minute. He subsequently left Selhurst Park on crutches and speaking in his post-match press conference Arteta admitted his concern for the 23-year-old.

"He felt something in his hamstring," the Spaniard said. "He couldn’t continue. He will have to be assessed. Pretty worried about that one. It’s difficult to (estimate how serious it is) now. They have tested him inside but very difficult to say how bad it is."

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This is the third time that Saka has suffered hamstring issues this season. The Hale Ender missed two matches for Arsenal after limping off during England's 2-1 defeat to Greece in October. He was then forced to miss the subsequent international break after coming off against Chelsea in November. Arteta would not confirm if this latest problem at Selhurst Park was an aggravation of these issues however.

"I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same one," he said on Saturday. "It’s in the same leg. He had the third minor injury - I don’t know how big this is going to be. But he already had two."

Now though the Spaniard has moved to admit that Saka is facing facing a period out of the Arsenal team. "It's not looking good he's going to be out for many weeks," Arteta admitted. "I cannot be too specific because I don’t know but it will be many weeks."

The injury is compounded by the fact that Raheem Sterling was also absent from the 5-1 win at Selhurst Park after limping out of training the day prior. "We lost Raheem yesterday and we don’t know for how long," Arteta said after the game. "To lose two players in 24 hours is not good. Unfortunately with the amount of games that we are playing and with this schedule it doesn’t surprise me."

On Monday, Arteta revealed Sterling has picked up a knee issue that will keep him sidelined for some time. "He’s gonna be out for weeks I believe," the Spaniard said. "He needs further testing tomorrow to understand the extent of his injury. It’s his knee. We have to wait and see another 24 hours. Unfortunately he’s gonna be out for a while."

It remains to be seen if Arsenal will look to remedy Saka's absence by dipping into the January transfer market. The Gunners have been looking to bolster their forward ranks for some time now, but Arteta was keen to point out that they would not be rushing into doing any business.

"We have to look internally at what we have and be creative," Arteta said. "It’s a good exercise again of how can we mould the squad, how can we adapt to the circumstances and how can we be different? We’re not going to be the same. We’re going to be different. Try and find the best way to do it and win games.

"My intention right now is to get the best of what we have in the time right now. What is outside is not in our control."