Mikel Arteta told Bukayo Saka luxury at Arsenal now amid Arsene Wenger reminder

A football injury expert believes Arsenal's squad depth allows them to now use Bukayo Saka more sparingly.

The winger has grown into one of the biggest stars in world football and is part of the leadership group under Mikel Arteta. Saka has long been seen as an integral part of Arteta's team, having scored 32 goals across the previous two campaigns for the north London club.

The 24-year-old was also named Arsenal's player of the season for two successive seasons in 2020/21 and 21/22. Saka has become a regular with England as well, having been involved in the last three major international tournaments for the Three Lions.

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But Premier Injuries founder Ben Dinnery believes Arteta no longer has to be heavily reliant on his star forward. Saka has been hit with several injuries in recent seasons, including a hamstring problem, which kept him out between August 23 and September 19 this season.

"That strength in depth of the Arsenal squad now affords Mikel Arteta the luxury of being able to manage Bukayo Saka that little bit more carefully," he exclusively told football.london, via Escapist Magazine.

“Coming off the back of any long-term injury, particularly hamstring injuries, when you look at the type of player Bukayo Saka is, he’s the type of player who likes those fast, quick, dynamic, explosive changes in movements.

"That intense burst of pace. That puts a lot of pressure and strain on those lower leg muscles, in particular the likes of the hamstrings.

“If you’re in a position to be able to manage his minutes, particularly in a team that is fighting on potentially four fronts with European football, at every opportunity you’re going to protect your best players and star players when you have some of the quality that he has available from the bench.”

When asked what changes Arsenal had made, Dinnery referenced previosu comments from former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. He added: “This is something that will be looked at not just by Arsenal but every club in terms of needing to lower that injury burden.

"The best ability is availability as they say. The impact on Arsenal in recent season, we almost forget that to an extent, football is a contact sport.

“There are levels of luck involved in that and it’s just the harsh reality of the game. I don’t think there’ll be fundamentally huge changes behind the scenes. There’s opportunities there for Mikel Arteta to make decisions around load, exposure and minutes played.

"Also having those players available on the bench and being able to chop and change those players a little bit more, inherently, we always heard Arsene Wenger talk about players in the red zone, being at increased risk of picking up muscle injuries.

“We’ve seen big decisions from Mikel Arteta this season already in terms of playing minutes. Whether players are starting on the bench or being withdrawn early, that’s a big thing and that certainly can’t be understated given the demands of playing in European and domestic competitions and Premier League football.”

Arsenal continue their bid for a first Premier League title since 2004 when they visit Burnley on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off). Arteta's men then face games against Slavia Prague in the Champions League and Sunderland before the November international break.