Arsenal icon Tony Adams has warned Mikel Arteta that he risks burning out Bukayo Saka if he relies on him too heavily.
It’s been a pretty mixed season for the Gunners but one constant bright light in a largely gloomy campaign has been the 19-year-old.
Saka has scored five goals and set up another four across all competitions this season.
Arsenal have played a total of 1,800 minutes of Premier League football and the young England winger himself has featured in over 1,500 of them.
And the North Londoners’ legendary defender Adams believes that Arteta’s heavy use of the teenager could actually be ‘dangerous’ for Saka himself.
He told Stadium Astro: “Love him to death. What Arsenal fan wouldn’t love a player like that. It’s very important for the coach to actually know when to say, ‘have a rest today’. What Arteta’s done, and he did the same last year, he falls on a system, it works for him, and he kind of runs with it. I think that’s kind of dangerous. I think Arteta’s going, ‘just go and play’, but you have to watch that, you really do. You’ll get burnt out, your form will drop, your confidence could go.”
Saka has obviously played a lot of football for Arsenal this season but, then again, he’s developing at a frightening rate.
The Emirates Stadium side have one hell of a talent on their hands and although you can see Adams’s concern, it’s also important for him to play as much as possible.
If Saka is this good at 19, he could be a scary player by the time he’s 22, but only if he continues to play regularly.
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