Ian Wright has been left baffled after Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka started yet another game on Thursday night.
Wright has been speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast following Arsenal’s Europa League clash with Sporting on Thursday.
Saka started yet again for Arsenal and logged another 90 minutes in a Gunners shirt.
Saka has only missed eight minutes in Arsenal’s last seven Premier League games and was called up on yet again in Lisbon.
Some are starting to worry that Saka will end up burning out and becoming frazzled by the end of the season.
Wright has now admitted that he thinks Mikel Arteta is taking a ‘very precarious’ risk by asking Saka to start so many games.
The Arsenal legend admitted that he understands why Arteta is asking Saka to play so many games as he wants every game to feel massive.
Yet Wright thinks Saka could be shattered soon and joked that he may have a clause in his contract to play every single game – otherwise Arteta would rest him.
“Honestly, I said in a group that he must have a clause in his contract that says ‘I have to play’. Because I’m thinking in that particular game, surely you might give him a rest in that game,” said Wright.
“Let him just chill. But, Mikel has gone on record saying he doesn’t want any player thinking one game is more important than the other. I get it. But at the same time, it’s very precarious,” he added.
Arsenal have lack of attacking options amid Bukayo Saka workload
We would normally agree here; Saka is only 21 and whilst the best players feature more regularly, Arsenal don’t want him burning out.
Yet against Sporting, it’s hard to see where else Arsenal could have turned.
Leandro Trossard was out injured, just like strikers Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.
That meant Gabriel Martinelli moved up top and Reiss Nelson came in down the flank in a shuffled Gunners attack.
Marquinhos has been loaned out to Norwich City and Folarin Belogun remains on loan at Reims this season.
Arsenal had such a lack of attacking options that Arteta had to name teenager Charles Sagoe Jr on the bench.
Maybe Arteta could have used Sagoe Jr, but throwing him straight into a Europa League knockout clash would have been a gamble.
Arsenal may well chase another winger to help give Saka a rest or two, but Arteta almost had his hands tied against Sporting.
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