Mikel Arteta has warned Bukayo Saka that the better he becomes, the more he will be targeted – but the manager insists Saka’s Arsenal team-mates can do more to protect him.
The England forward hobbled off against Nottingham Forest recently after one a number of hefty challenges this season.
‘The better the players become, the bigger target they become because people try and find ways to stop him,’ Arteta said ahead of tonight’s trip to Wolves.
‘The referees have the duties to deal with that.’ But Arteta said there are ways Arsenal can help Saka avoid further punishment.
‘There is a part we can do better and we have to be more intelligent… things he needs to do on the pitch,’ he said.
‘The timing, the decision making, the space that you have generated before that action and the understanding and knowledge of what is going to happen before it happens.’
When pushed for examples of what should change, Arteta suggested Saka’s team-mates can be more forgiving with their service, explaining: ‘Sometimes the type of ball we give him and when we give him certain balls.’
Saka must come through one final examination at Molineux today before joining up with Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup. Arteta warned his players heading to Qatar that they must not think about avoiding injury.
‘I always say to them if you’re thinking about an injury then probably it’s going to happen,’ Arteta said.
