Mikel Arteta says Arsenal star is ‘really fatigued’ following last night’s Europa League victory

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that Gunners ace Bukayo Saka is “really fatigued” at present.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed a stratospheric rise to the top of the game in the past 18 months and is now one of the first names on Arteta’s team sheet.

To date, Saka has made 73 competitive senior appearances for Arsenal, registering 10 goals and 18 assists.

This season, he has made 31 appearances, clocking up close to 2,500 minutes of game time – or just over 41 hours – across all competitions.

Despite playing so many games, Saka’s quality and consistency remains high, and last night he delivered yet another masterclass in the red and white.

The England international delivered two superb assists for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in Arsenal 3-2 win over Benfica, which saw them squeeze into the last 16 of the competition.

And while Arteta was eager to praise Saka, he also acknowledged that he was shattered come full time.

“He’s really fatigued,” Arteta told football.london. “He’s played a lot of minutes. He hasn’t had much rest.

“We asked him to go again and produce these moments and the boy’s done it.”

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Whilst last season was mostly difficult for Arsenal – until right at the end anyway – Saka’s breakthrough was one of the main positives, and he’s certainly going from strength to strength this term too.

Fans, pundits and peers are running out of superlatives for the 19-year-old, but at the same time, you can’t help but worry that he’s being run into the ground.

Arteta is certainly aware that he’s giving Saka a lot of game time so hopefully he can be used more sparingly in the coming weeks.