Bukaya Saka’s injury ‘makes me a better manager’, says Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says losing Bukaya Saka to injury will make him a better manager.

The England winger faces “many weeks” on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring in Arsenal’s 5-1 dismantling of Crystal Palace last weekend.

Saka’s injury comes a month after captain Martin Odegaard returned from 12 absences with an ankle problem.

Saka’s natural replacement, Raheem Sterling, will also be out for some time after picking up a knee injury in training.

💬 “If you don’t take risks, or if you don’t want to take risks, then you limit yourself.”

Bukayo talks about his football philosophy, the sacrifices he made to become the star he is 👇

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 25, 2024

But when asked if his latest managerial test would make him a better coach, Arteta said: “I think so, yes. We started the season with one of the weakest teams in the Premier League and we knew it.

“If we have the weakest squad, what do we need? We are really committed to making sure we use each player to their best potential and everyone has to feel a part of that.

“You have to rediscover players in different positions and in different relationships. It’s a really good exercise and the guys are willing to do whatever we ask of them, so that’s a really good thing too.”

The pressures on the players are under the microscope, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri out for the rest of the season just one of the big names to be hurt this year.

“It (the fixture list) is unsustainable unless we find ways to physically turn the players into monsters who can deal with everything,” Arteta added.

“The fact that you train and recover, that’s not a good pattern because the body needs to train, the muscle needs to train. If you’re just playing and recovering, you start to lose a lot of factors in your body that are critical to physical performance.

“I’m not just playing to avoid injury, but to become a better athlete, which is very different, and to continue to develop as an athlete.

“I hope the players are being listened to, but whoever is in charge, can they really do anything now with the commitments that are already in place over the next three or four seasons? It is very challenging and very difficult.”