Saka: Page 16 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Saka

Coombs

Qwiss I was a competitive ski racer, I raced internationally for a decade. Did my knee when I was a teenager and was never the same, but you get on with it, take a painkiller, condition as best you can, etc. The idea you're going to participate in any sport at a high level and stay clear of pain is fanciful. You've got to play to win, I'm not convinced by this idea that you can extend your career by not playing. In reality, you're just spreading a short career over more years, and the real risk is that you miss the moments you could've made if you'd been on the pitch.

Play. If you regret playing, you're in the wrong line of work. That's how I see it anyway.

Clrnc

Burnwinter

Lulz. He's got a fair bit of catching up to do though.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

He was excellent. THAT'S more like our Bukayo.

RocktheCasbah

I'm Rockthecasbah and I endorse this message.

Don Pacifico

Love it.

Feels like our kid brother.

Big Willie

Don Pacifico Feels like our kid brother.

You didn't hear the guy. He's our son.

KingslandBarge

Sometimes doesn’t feel like it, especially when he’s hacked down but top boy is up on the charts

DiabyKungFu

Fotmob has Saka as the best player in the PL so far this season.

daredevil

Yet, most of the fanbase want to see him subbed off in most games and even dropped/rested for a few.

Meatwad

daredevil
jesus. it's because he's so good and important why people are shitting bricks every time he's hobbling around out there.

Burnwinter

daredevil Ask yourself for a second exactly why his average stats for last season are lower 👍

IBL

Cos we'd like him to last the whole season and not play in dead rubber or wrapped up games.

RocktheCasbah

IBL Cos we'd like him to last the whole season and not play in dead rubber or wrapped up games.

Which is completely fair, especially when you see him hobbling around the last twenty minutes of games. But for all of our worrying about him, and his hobbling, he's usually available to start for us. I do think we maybe worry about this stuff a little too much, especially given his track record. I think we have to trust Arteta's judgement with him a little more, after all he will have far more information than we ever will.

And it is true that for all the talk of how he's been relatively quiet this season, his "relatively quiet" is still winning us matches on the regular.

Completely agree that he should be kept away from dead rubber type situations mind.

daredevil

IBL

He lasted the whole of last season, he also lasted the whole of the season before that and the season before that too.

Saka is one of the fittest and most reliable players we have in the team. Instead of celebrating this fact, it's used as a stick to beat Arteta with.

There is absolutely no evidence to show that he is playing any more football than his peers. In fact, we've been out of the CL for years and he's had the fortune of playing once a week for most of that period.

People have completely forgotten what the demands of top level football actually are, from Fabregas to Henry to Alexis Sanchez. These guys played twice a week for long stretches of the season. Saka has never broken 50 games in a season. Yet, people have been losing their shit over Saka long before he's ever been exposed to CL football.

IBL

RocktheCasbah I do think we maybe worry about this stuff a little too much, especially given his track record. I think we have to trust Arteta's judgement with him a little more, after all he will have far more information than we ever will.

I get that but worry that we're sometimes riding our luck and with the way he plays and draws foul it just takes one Dan Smith, Shawcross or Taylor and he's out for the season. Just feels risky leaving him on for the full 90 if we're comfortably ahead.

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Anyone think Saka fakes these limps at the end of games to make the next team we face not sure if he plays or not?

RocktheCasbah

Sorry, I've just remembered how many soft tissue injuries we've ended up with with Arteta in charge. Ignore what I said about trusting him! 🤣

FEBravo

It’s not the hobbling around only. He (and some others) were also completely ineffective at the end of last season and it’s hard not to think that if was related to being overplayed

RocktheCasbah

FEBravo yeah, also fair. I do think though, certainly this season - as alluded to - he's pacing himself better this season. We've not often seen him flat out. So maybe part of his growth is him learning how to get through the season and peaking at the right time. We shall see - in about seven months...

RocktheCasbah

IBL Just feels risky leaving him on for the full 90 if we're comfortably ahead.

Oh, 100%.

Meatwad

IBL
" Dan Smith, Shawcross or Taylor and he's out for the season."

that's definitely not what I'm worried about with Saka because those kind of things can happen to anyone at anytime in the game. the only way to prevent those assaults is to not play the game.

RocktheCasbah

Meatwad that's true, but IBL is talking about minimising unnecessary exposure to such tackles and therefore the risk of them happening. It's pretty hard to two foot Saka out of a game, month, season if he's sitting on the bench, having a rest with us 4-0 up.

AAStyle

Meatwad

Nah mate as RtC has said the point is that there are certain games (e.g. carabao game cup against a really weak team) and or certain sections of a game (e.g. last 30 minutes against Luton having already scored 4 goals) that don't require Saka.

daredevil

Burnwinter

Obviously, a myriad of reasons, but I wasn't drawing attention to the difference in his season stats. But rather that he's fit and firing and people already want him constantly rotated or subbed off at halftime.🤣

Meatwad

That's getting more to the root cause of peoples concerns. People are afraid that he's going to get injured, and like you rightly said, that risk exists regardless. He might as well stop playing the game altogether.

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