Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has stated that Bukayo Saka is keen to play as the Gunners prepare for their crunch London derby with Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.
Saka has been an integral part of Arteta’s squad but has struggled with fitness issues of late which led him to miss the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Manchester City before the international break. He also had to miss getting called to the England squad for their friendly against Australia and Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.
Arteta confirmed Saka has trained ahead of the Chelsea fixture and has also had time to rest by not being involved in international duty.
“I’m sure he wants to play. I don’t see any player there that doesn’t want to be in the starting XI,” Saka said on the club website. “He has been working so hard to be fit for this game and let’s see where he is at today. He had a couple of days off that he needed, but the rest unfortunately has not been rest for him because he needed the treatment and training to get ready to be available against Chelsea.
“I think we have to play him when we see he is in the right condition to play – mentally, physically and that he’s performing. He needs to deserve to play, that’s another story, but so far when he’s played that amount of minutes, it’s because we believe he was ready to cope with that.”
Mikel has provided an update on Saka, Saliba and Trossard ahead of Chelsea tomorrow????
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 20, 2023
Saka has played 10 times in all competitions this season, having as many goal involvements (five goals, five assists).
Arsenal are also unbeaten in the Premier League after eight games and are level with fellow unbeaten North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the table.
