Bukayo Saka has dismissed fears of burnout as he remains focused on becoming one of the best players in the world.
Concerns are building over Saka who has featured in 77 games for club and country since the start of last season, despite carrying various knocks and facing rough treatment from defenders each week.
However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has stressed that top players must be available “every week” and the 22-year-old was clear in echoing that sentiment.
“I’m really focused on the next coming games and what I can do for the team,” he told Standard Sport.
“My focus is not really there [on talk of burning out]. I always want to be on the pitch, to give my best, and if I’m injured and I have to be forced to be out, then of course I will sit out.
“But as long I’m there and I’m ready to play, I am always going to give my best and tell them that I want to play.”
“When you look at the top players, they are there every three days and winning games for their team. So I’m trying to be at that level, and obviously to get there I need to push myself.
Saka – who captained Arsenal for the first time on Saturday – believes the Gunners are starting to click after beating Sheffield United 5-0 to maintain their unbeaten league start.
“We just have to take into account the results that we’ve been getting,” he added.
“We are close to the top of the table, we are top of our Champions League group and still in all the other competitions.
“That is something we can be proud of, but there is another level for us to go to. We are pushing and after scoring five goals (against Sheffield United), we are getting closer to it.”
He’s right, you know. But I still think we should be rotating our players a bit and I’m glad Arteta did so against Sheffield United.
Shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Sheffield United are utter dross and have conceded 22 goals in their last 6 games. We are still close to the top but need to push more and put the Spuds in their place!
Absolutely. The idea of Spuds doing a Leicester is giving me the heebie jeebies already. They have a few decent players, evidently a decent coach, and no European distractions.
Leicester did before the rise of City. There will be no Leicester until their fall!
City won the league twice in the 4 seasons before Leicester won it, so I wouldn’t necessarily say it was before their rise. They were fully expected to win it that year (along with chels).
Come back to that idea when they have played more of the top teams. Arsene said that confidence goes up the stairs, but down on the lift.
Treating this objectively, as if Spurs were like Wolves or Villa, where we don’t really care, I’m not really worried. Clearly their manager has done a good job. It looks like their new centre back (the Dutch guy) will be very good and that Son is rebounding from his abysmal form of last season. But they there’s no Ngolo Kante or Riyad Mahrez–guys who turned out to be much better than anyone could know, in Kante’s case, a generational talent in his role. Bissouma can be impressive but he is an erratic 6–nowhere as good as Partey/Rice/Jorginho or Rodri. Kulasevski… Read more »
Listen, the footballing Gods are toying with them. They will lead the whole season with us in close pursuit. Then comes the final day of the season. Tottenham face a still winless Sheffield United away. The trophy is theirs if they can get 3 points. Surely they can’t slip up…or can they? Suddenly from nowhere, Sheffield Utd start playing like 2010 Barcelona. At 80 mins they’re 3-0 up. The helicopter bearing the trophy takes off and heads South. The fans are in tears. It gets smaller and smaller in the distance as James Maddison gets sent off and Porro puts… Read more »
It’s good, but I still prefer the scenario of winning it at their joint.
I keep pinching myself that we have these world class players, but integral to that thought, I keep pinching myself that we have Arteta, minding them, loving them , helping them progress as players and as people.
The club is in a great place.
There’s this quote from the finale of The Office (US version) saying “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
We’re in the good old days right now, you know.
Look what he’s done. He’s a muthaf**King starboy!
Anybody detect that font switch midway through the article?
Size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it.
We shouldn’t forget there is a conference league team flattering to deceive at the top of the PL table. Hopefully we’ll be sending them on their way down sooner rather than later. We wouldn’t want them staying up here too long lest they start imagining stuff.
Evidently that conference league team actually has a supporter, whose life is so sad and bereft of joy that his only remaining purpose is to come into a discussion board for a real team and pettily thumb down every post.
Saka has to take into account that he is targeted every game and the opposition left back is going to kick and foul him 30 times with 1 possible yellow card every game.
We have a great squad with depth now and 5 subs per game, so the Sheff Utd game shows the way forward. Just don’t play important players when half injured, unless absolutely necessary.
Spursy Spurs will collapse like a pack of cards – it’s only a matter of time.
After what happened last season I have no problem if Arsenal pootle along in second for a while, snapping at the heals of the leaders – just not with the Spuds being the team at the top. Leading from the front is tough – you are the team to beat week in, week out.
too most of you this will be off topic, but it really isn’t. Back in the 80s when bill James was creating modern day analytics in baseball he wrote some incredibly interesting articles with application to other sports. one of them addressed cal Ripken’s pursuit of the consecutive game played record held by Lou Gehrig. the conclusion was that as ripken approached the record he was little more than a replacement level player instead a very valuable player. there were a number of factors causing this decline. He should have been benched for the good of the team. My take… Read more »