- Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka has learned to handle rough treatment
- Saka only returned to action this month after suffering a hamstring injury
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Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka has learned to handle rough treatment and insists he will resist the temptation to wrap his star player in cotton wool even as the Premier League title slips away and a Champions League semi-final looms.
Saka has been eased back after a hamstring injury and made his first Premier League since December against Ipswich on Sunday when he received a hefty, red-card challenge from Leif Davis.
That blow forced the right winger off after 57 minutes but Arteta said he has ‘a good chance’ to feature against Crystal Palace tonight.
The Arsenal manager has often talked of his belief that Saka is targeted by opposition players but he praised the way in which the 23-year-old refuses to rise to provocation.
‘It’s very difficult to work on that! He needs to stay focused and present,’ said Arteta. ‘It is tricky sometimes but I think he handled it really well.
‘That’s in his nature. That is something we can’t coach or take credit for. That’s him. He is really calm, very rational, very intelligent in the way he manages his emotions so that’s down to him.’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he will resist the urge to protect Bukayo Saka’s minutes
Saka only returned to action this month after suffering a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace that had kept him sidelined since the end of December
But he was on the receiving end of another hefty challenge on Sunday, this time from Ipswich’s Leif Davis, who was shown a red card for his tackle on Saka
A defeat to Olivier Glasner’s men at the Emirates on Wednesday evening would hand Liverpool the title with five games to spare so the league is all but over and all Arteta’s eggs are in the Champions League basket, with the first leg against Paris St-Germain next Tuesday.
But Arteta refused to countenance the possibility of saving his big guns such as Saka, William Saliba and Declan Rice solely for Europe.
‘When players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play,’ he insisted. ‘
They are at their best when they are playing and have consistency in their performances: physically, emotionally, their understanding and their rhythm. That’s what we need.’
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has suggested the squad will be watching tonight’s match with champagne on ice and ready to be uncorked if Palace spring a surprise. Arteta insisted he was not motivated by a wish to delay the party.
‘I don’t need any motivation to win a match in the Premier League, he said.
‘I’m super motivated for tomorrow to go out there and try to be better than Palace.’
