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Arteta defends Saka decision and calls on Arsenal star to be 'ruthless'

Mikel Arteta has defended his decision to start Bukayo Saka once again in Arsenal's Europa League win against PSV Eindhoven.

Saka started against PSV
Played 85 minutes
Arteta not tempted to rest Saka

WHAT HAPPENED? The 21-year-old has started all but two games for Arsenal this season. Many expected he would be given the night off against PSV on Thursday night, but he played 85 minutes of the 1-0 success before limping off with a slight knock.

WHAT THEY SAID: When asked if he was tempted to rest Saka against the Dutch side, Arteta said: "Look at the top players in the world, they play 70 matches, every three days and make the difference and win the game. You want to be at the top, you have to be able to do that.

"And if we start to put something different in the mind of a young player, I think we are making a huge mistake because then [he would] be like ‘no, I don’t play now, on astroturf I don’t play’. I don’t want that. I want them to be ruthless every three days. I want them knocking on my door [saying] I want to play, I want to win the game."

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: When pushed further on whether he was worried by Saka's workload, Arteta added: "There is no fitness coach in the world that is going to tell me that they cannot do it, because I’ve seen it. 72 games and scored 50 goals. The players that score 50 goals do not play 38 games in the season, it’s just impossible."

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