Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal would be without Bukayo Saka for "many weeks" after he picked up a hamstring injury in the Gunners' 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 

Saka was replaced in the 24th minute at Selhurst Park by Leandro Trossard and was seen leaving the ground on crutches last Saturday. 

It provides Arteta with a huge hole to fill in his attacking ranks over the hectic festive schedule, with the England international set to potentially set to miss some huge fixtures. 

Following games against Ipswich Town and Brentford, the Gunners take on Brighton, Tottenham and Aston Villa in the Premier League. 

Arsenal also have an EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle United as well as squaring off against Ruben Amorim's Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. 

Saka has been the creative force for Arsenal at the top end of the pitch this season, registering nine goals and laying on a further 13 assists in 24 appearances in all competitions.

In the Premier League this campaign, only Mohamed Salah (26) and Cole Palmer (17) have been involved in more goals than Saka (15), while his 42 chances created are only bettered by Chelsea's Palmer (47). 

"It's not looking good," said Arteta. "He's going to be out for many weeks. It is what it is. He's injured, we cannot change it. We're going to use this time now to help him."

Asked whether Saka had "torn" something in his hamstring, Arteta replied: "Yes. There are probably ways to prevent the injury.

"There are a lot of factors. We are looking at everything and what we can do differently."

Arteta did, however, believe that Gabriel Martinelli could fill the right-wing berth in Saka's absence, having notched a goal against the Eagles last time out. 

Martinelli's 60th minute strike means he has now scored six Premier League goals against Palace, twice as many as he has against any other opponent in the competition.

The Brazilian also had the most touches in the opposition box (11) and created more chances (three) than any of his team-mates at Selhurst Park on Saturday. 

"Yeah, that's the first one we went through, especially because he's played there before," Arteta said. 

"He played the last match there against Everton and the last match of the season. He did really well.

"He did really well the other day, he scored a goal and created an assist and is a good option to have."

The Arsenal head coach was also not opposed to testing out his options over the Christmas period, with Gabriel Jesus returning to form and Ethan Nwaneri also impressing. 

Jesus has now scored five goals in his last two games for Arsenal in all competitions (all against Palace), as many as he had in his previous 45 outings for the Gunners.

"Gabby [Jesus] has played there. Ethan [Nwaneri] has played there, Leo [Trossard] can play there in relation to how that unit moves.

"Kai [Havertz] can play there, asking him different things. We will see, try different things and ask how they feel about it."