Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted that he is keen to manage the playing load of Bukayo Saka, who has racked up a large amount of minutes in recent campaigns.
The young winger, who turned 21 this week, is a regular in the England side, as well as representing one of the most important players within our club side.
Saka has won the Arsenal Player of the Year award for both of our last two seasons, which only moves to highlight just how crucial he is to our side’s progress, but there has been a growing concern over whether we will burn him out.
With the World Cup coming up mid-season also, those worries will be amplified, and the manager has admitted that while he wants the chance to rest him, the club’s results and standing will impact whether he is able to give his young star as much rest as would be recommended.
“We will try,” Arteta told the media in Switzerland (as quoted by Arsenal’s official website). “If the squad and performances allow us, we’ll try our best to manage his load and get him on the field in the best possible condition. After November we have something that we have never experienced before. ”
There is definitely worries over the long-term future of Saka if we do continue to play him heavily, and given the wealth of young talent in our squad, you would imagine that we would be able to find time to give him a rest. Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira have struggled to prove their fitness so far this term however, but hopefully when both are ready we will have strong competition for places in attack.
Do you want to see Saka start in tomorrow’s line-up despite his heavy workload? Is he too important to be benched in the Premier League?
Patrick
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Then why loan out Pepe without signing a replacement? If you weren’t sure you’d get someone I don’t see what the harm could have been in keeping him around
Arteta needs to do more than try. Saka shouldn’t be anywhere near the pitch tonight.
Marquinhos or Vieira or both need to start against Zurich tonight… we can’t keep inviting injuries by playing the same players…. so many times we look tired after 65/70 mins and arteta still leaves subs on the bench too long
It’s not a question of trying but Managing resources correctly.It would also help to play Sam’s in his natural position on the left wing where he would be far more effective.
Then why loan Pepe without getting a replacement? He could have played these games in the group stages, he is more than adequate and better than academy players.
Unfortunately, man management continues to be an issue, and it seems lowering the wage bill is a priority over depth and success on the pitch.
Apparently little was learned from decimating the squad in January, and here we are again.
That feels a bit harsh given we have ESR, Nelson, Marquinios and Viera that can all give Saka a rest. Having two of the four out doesn’t help but Pepe isn’t needed to give Saka a night off tonight.
Saka is too important for us so long he is fit he must play in every premier league match that’s for sure he is too important for the team considering how Arteta wants his team to play
We are together here, the reason we lost to Manchester, you can’t keep playing the same team every week even when you have midweek, same team, totally nonsense, they eventually burn out and injuries also intrigue so easily, he should learn to rotate the team