Mikel Arteta told Arsenal have ‘luxury’ that can help manage Bukayo Saka problem

Bukayo Saka has been plagued by injuries over recent seasons, but Mikel Arteta has been able to manage the England international’s minutes this season

A football injury specialist reckons Arsenal’s improved squad depth means they can now afford to rotate Bukayo Saka more carefully. The England winger has established himself as one of the game’s brightest talents and forms part of Mikel Arteta’s leadership group.

Saka has long-since been viewed as crucial to Arteta’s plans – netting 32 goals in the past two campaigns for the Gunners. The 24-year-old also claimed Arsenal’s player of the season award for back-to-back years in 2020/21 and 2021/22, as well.

The forward has cemented a spot in the England set-up, too, featuring in the last three major tournaments for the national side. However, Premier Injuries founder Ben Dinnery believes Arteta no longer needs to depend so heavily on his star attacker.

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Saka has suffered multiple injuries in recent campaigns, including a hamstring issue which side-lined him between 23 August and 19 September this season.

“That strength in depth of the Arsenal squad now affords Mikel Arteta the luxury of being able to manage Bukayo Saka that little bit more carefully,” he exclusively told Mirror Football – via Escapist Magazine.

“Coming off the back of any long-term injury – particularly hamstring injuries- when you look at the type of player Bukayo Saka is, he’s the type of player who likes those fast, quick, dynamic, explosive changes in movements.

“That intense burst of pace. That puts a lot of pressure and strain on those lower leg muscles, in particular the likes of the hamstrings.

“If you’re in a position to be able to manage his minutes, particularly with a team that is fighting on potentially four fronts with European football, at every opportunity you’re going to protect your best players and star players when you have some of the quality that he has available from the bench.”

When questioned about what modifications Arsenal had implemented, Dinnery referenced previous remarks from iconic ex- Gunners manager Arsene Wenger. He added: “This is something that will be looked at not just by Arsenal but every club in terms of needing to lower that injury burden.

“The best ability is availability – as they say. The impact on Arsenal in recent seasons, we almost forget that to an extent, football is a contact sport.

“There are levels of luck involved in that and it’s just one of the harsh realities of the game. I don’t think there’ll be fundamentally huge changes behind the scenes. There’s opportunities there for Mikel Arteta to make decisions on work-load, exposure and minutes played.

“Also having those players available on the bench and being able to chop and change those players a little bit more, inherently, we always heard Arsene Wenger talk about players in the red zone, being at increased risk of picking up muscle injuries.

“We’ve seen big decisions from Mikel Arteta this season already – in terms of playing minutes. Whether players are starting on the bench or being withdrawn early, that’s a big thing and that certainly can’t be understated given the demands of playing in European and domestic competitions and Premier League football.”

The Gunners’ quest for a first Premier League title since 2004 continues with a journey to Burnley on Saturday afternoon (3pm. Following this, Arteta’s squad will face off against Slavia Prague in the Champions League and Sunderland before the November international break.

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