Arsenal: 'Very intelligent' Bukayo Saka knows how to laugh off jeers from rival fans, says Mikel Arteta | OneFootball

The Arsenal star was booed by Ipswich fans after being injured last weekend

Smirk: Bukayo Saka

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Bukayo Saka can handle the stick he gets from opposition fans.

Davis caught Saka on his Achilles with a tackle from behind, but the home fans were unhappy with the referee’s decision and the England winger bore the brunt of their frustrations.

Saka was caught on camera smiling at the jeers and Arteta has backed him to handle any stick he gets.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

“It’s very difficult to work on that! We cannot really replicate it,” he said. “He needs to stay focused and present in the moment and make sure the noise doesn't affect his game, the decision making especially.

“It is tricky sometimes - but I think he handled it really well because the worst thing you can do is start reacting to that or paying attention to that and he needs to stay focused, that’s it.

“That’s in his nature. That is something we can’t coach or take credit for. That’s him. He is really calm, very rational, very intelligent in the way he manages his emotions so that’s down to him.”

Saka was forced to ice his Achilles after coming off on Sunday, but Arteta has declared he is fit to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

When the players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play

Mikel Arteta

The game is Arsenal’s last one before they host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final next week.

Arteta, however, is not planning to make wholesale changes as he wants his players to stay in their current rhythm.

“I think when the players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play,” he said.

“And they are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances. And physically they are good, emotionally they are good, their understanding and their rhythm and the way they make decisions is at their best.

“And that's why we need the players. If they are not available, there's no discussion. And if they are not in good condition to perform, we're not going to play them. And if they are, we are going to play them.”