“We cannot control what the opponents are going to do, or the referee’s decisions in a split second. It’s something we cannot control, so we have to control what we can: help him to become a better player, be more efficient, and that’s it.”
Arsenal boss Arteta tells kicked Bukayo Saka he needs to know when to jump
Winger getting hacked after spectacular performances
Friday, 24th February 2023 — By Geoff Sawyer
Bukayo Saka is facing crunching fouls every week
AT times this season, Bukayo Saka has been the difference between Arsenal winning and losing, a mesmerising winger who has blossomed into one of the Premier League’s most exciting and dangerous players.
No wonder then that Arsenal are looking to finalise a new £10m-a-year new contract for their hot property.
While that deal should now get over the line with Saka apparently indicating verbally that the is ready to sign on the line, there remains a concern about the fierce challenges coming in every week from defenders who are otherwise powerless to stop his dancing feet.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said today (Friday) that the 21-year-old from Ealing would need to learn how to deal with the rough stuff.
Asked if he was worried too many crunching fouls would lead to his star act getting injured, he said: “Hopefully not, but we have to train for that and he has to learn when to take certain balls and what he has to do with that ball, how to use his body and when to jump. There is a lot of things that we can train for, but it’s very difficult to understand what the opponent is going to do.”
Arteta was speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Leicester City tomorrow (Saturday), with every away fixture now coming with twice as much pressure given the Gunners’ attempt to bring the Premier League trophy to North London. The club boss said he thought that the contest should not be considered a two horse race with City, indicating the growing fear that Manchester United are peaking in form and ready to mount a surge to the line too.
Arteta said that Saka – as a winger – was getting used to be fouled on the pitch.
“If you ask him how he used to be when he was 10, 11, 12 or 13, I think it’s very different. Wingers and talented players get kicked, get fouled and have the demand to win games, and that’s the task that he has and his role in the team,” he said.
Saka added to his goal tally with a thunderbolt strike at Aston Villa last weekend and will be called on to help unlock the doors of Leicester’s defence tomorrow. The Foxes have won three out of their last four matches and no longer tips for relegation, as they were when they lost 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium earlier in the season.
Arteta said of Saka: “Obviously he attracts a lot of attention, like Gabriel Martinelli, or Gabrie Jesus when he plays, or Eddie or Martin. It’s normal that creative players want to be stopped [by the opposition], and they want to be restricted with the ball getting into them and occupying and exploring certain spaces. What we have to do is try to do the complete opposite.”
He added: “We fill in our reports after every game, and you express if you are satisfied with the performance, and if there are any issues. We have to report everything, and we do every single game, and we put any comments we want to make.
