Mikel Arteta concerned over Bukayo Saka's fitness ahead of international break

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he is concerned over England's decision to call Bukayo Saka for the upcoming international fixtures, encouraging the Three Lions to 'not just think about the short term'.

The 19-year-old did not feature in the 1-0 defeat to Olympiacos on Thursday evening due to injury, but Gareth Southgate still chose to hand him another opportunity to impress on the international stage.

When asked about whether Saka stands any chance of being fully fit to feature for England in the World Cup qualifiers, Arteta was unable to reveal anything concrete.

"We don’t know, it depends how he feels in the next few days," the Arsenal boss said.

"He wasn’t near ready to be involved for Olympiacos. We made the decision. We will make the decision for Sunday against West Ham and then we will talk with the doctors and the national team to decide what we do."

When speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with West Ham, Arteta confessed he was concerned about the number of minutes Saka is being asked to play between club and country this season, and requested 'good communication' between the Gunners and the England set-up.

Yes," he responded, when asked whether he was concerned by the player's fitness. "But that’s why I think we need really good communication between ourselves the player and the national team.

Saka has already broken onto the international stage | MICHAEL REGAN/Getty Images

"We know how important he is for now and in the summer for England. So let’s make the right call and let’s think not just about the short term, but the medium term as well."

No Arsenal outfield player other than Granit Xhaka has played more minutes than Saka this season, and the youngster was also involved in all three of England's matches in the most recent international break.

The Gunners are pinning all their hopes on his development into a superstar, but they must be careful not to burn him out too quickly.


Source : 90min