Arteta defends Saka after Bayer Leverkusen criticism | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has defended Bukayo Saka as “incredible”, insisting any player can have a bad game from time to time, especially if they’re playing as often as the 24-year-old winger is.

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It’s fair to say Bukayo Saka didn’t have his best game for Arsenal away to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, leading to some criticism of his performance. But Mikel Arteta has spoken out to insist that the club have full trust in one of their star players.

“We fully trust him and love him,” Arteta said. “What he’s doing for us, for this club, is just incredible at his age and he’s continued to have that massive impact for us.

“He can have an individual performance that is not probably a reflection of his level, like every human, every player in the world. But overall when you look at his strength and the impulse he has in the team, it’s just incredible.”

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Arteta also pointed out in the same press conference that Saka’s minutes this season are already very similar to the number he managed in 2024/25. If the winger plays any significant part in Arsenal’s game against Everton on Saturday afternoon, he’ll overtake last season’s total.

Saka obviously spent part of last season out with a serious hamstring injury, so the primary difference this season is that he’s only missed six games through injury.

But regardless of the reasoning behind his minutes, it’s true that Saka has taken on a heavy workload this campaign. Particularly for a player recovering from hamstring surgery.

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Saka has still had plenty of great games this season, and there should be many more between now and June. The occasional blip is normal in the circumstances.