Arsenal must avoid allowing Saka to go down the same road as Wilshere

saka

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 26: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team's second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary's Stadium on January 26, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Frank Augstein - Pool/Getty Images)

Jack Wilshere was the toast of the town when he first broke into the Arsenal first team as a teenager.

We cannot forget how the Englishman ran the show from midfield in several games, most memorably against Barcelona.

However, he left Arsenal in 2018, having had an injury-ravaged final few years at the Emirates.

It seems that the kicks he was getting from very early on and perhaps not allowing his legs to rest caught up with him and caused injury problems later in life.

The Englishman gave an interview to Jamie Redknapp in the Daily Mail recently and he admitted that he should have played less as the Physios had advised him at the start of his career.

He told the former Liverpool midfielder: “I remember having conversations with the physios in my first year in the Arsenal team. They were like: ‘Look, you’re playing a lot…’ I told them: ‘I want to play.’

“I was living the dream. I was 19, playing for Arsenal. We were challenging for the Premier League, in the Champions League. No one was going to tell me I needed a rest. That’s one of my biggest regrets – I wish I’d listened to physios a little more, learned more about my body.”

Saka has now emerged as the new poster boy at the Emirates. Perhaps the teenager is being overused too.

If there is something we can learn from Wilshere’s experience is that too much football too soon can be a problem later in life.