{"id":1197,"date":"2026-04-08T19:17:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2026-04-08T19:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:17:23","slug":"should-mikel-arteta-drop-arsenal-star-bukayo-saka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=1197","title":{"rendered":"Should Mikel Arteta drop Arsenal star Bukayo Saka?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has come under intense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike after signing a reported \u00a3300,000\u2011a\u2011week contract, with some voices claiming he has not justified his new wages with his performances this season.<\/p>\n<p>Sources close to fan forums and social commentary websites have echoed the sentiment attributed to ICFootballNews reporter Iomie Stanley that Saka\u2019s recent displays haven\u2019t matched the expectations that come with such a lucrative deal.<\/p>\n<p>Saka signed a long\u2011term extension with Arsenal in February that reportedly makes him the club\u2019s highest\u2011paid player on around \u00a3300,000 per week \u2014 a figure that reflects his status as one of the club\u2019s most important homegrown talents. Yet a growing slice of Arsenal supporters and social media commentators argue his output this season has been underwhelming, particularly in the final third.<\/p>\n<p>Critics point to his relatively modest goal\u2013assist returns and periods where he\u2019s struggled to influence matches consistently as evidence that he hasn\u2019t lived up to the salary he now commands. (Opinion source: fan commentary, collected perspectives)<\/p>\n<p>This downturn in form has coincided with a broader dip in <em><strong>ARSENAL<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s attacking rhythm, with the Gunners suffering recent setbacks \u2013 including an FA Cup exit to Southampton and defeat in the Carabao Cup final.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Saka\u2019s absence from recent line\u2011ups due to rotation and injury management \u2014 he was notably missing from Arsenal\u2019s squad for the Southampton tie and ruled out of their Champions League quarter\u2011final first leg against Sporting Lisbon \u2014 has added fuel to the debate over his role.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Should Mikel Arteta Drop Saka?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether manager Mikel Arteta should consider dropping Saka for a few games is now a hotly debated topic. Supporters of the idea argue that a short spell on the bench might allow Saka to reset mentally and physically, particularly given his recent fitness issues and lack of consistent end\u2011product.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are strong counterarguments. Saka remains one of Arsenal\u2019s most creative outlets when fully fit, and his experience at the highest level can be crucial in tight Premier League and Champions League fixtures.<\/p>\n<p>Removing him from the starting XI might undermine his confidence further and disrupt team chemistry, especially in a title race where <em><strong>ARSENAL<\/strong><\/em>  still sit strongly in the league standings.<\/p>\n<p>Dropping a player of Saka\u2019s stature is a complex decision. If his current form stems from fatigue or niggling fitness problems, a managed period of rest could benefit both player and club. But benching him purely for performance reasons risks destabilising Arsenal\u2019s attacking structure and could send the wrong message in a campaign where every point matters.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>MORE ARSENAL NEWS AND GOSSIP \u2013 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Latest: <strong>Official confirms he will sit down with Arsenal and hold talks over Portuguese International<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most Read:\u00a0Arsenal to snap up Real Madrids Spanish player in absolute summer bargain \u2013 report<\/p>\n<p>Must Check Out: <strong>Arsenal news: Arteta to snap up Madrid star \u2013 Boss \u2018will push\u2019 \u00a350M Deal \u2013 \u2018Deal Verbally agreed\u2019 for midfielder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LOVE ARSENAL? CLICK RIGHT HERE FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND GOSSIP<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded\" id=\"like-post-wrapper-141576104-119491-69d6a40999f7d\" data-src=\"https:\/\/widgets.wp.com\/likes\/?ver=15.6#blog_id=141576104&amp;post_id=119491&amp;origin=icfootballnews.com&amp;obj_id=141576104-119491-69d6a40999f7d\" data-name=\"like-post-frame-141576104-119491-69d6a40999f7d\" data-title=\"Like or Reblog\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Like this:<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"button\"><span>Like<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"loading\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sd-text-color\"\/><a class=\"sd-link-color\"\/><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-border-color\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;margin-top:32px;margin-bottom:32px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" style=\"margin-bottom:24px\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:10px\">Discover more from IcFootballNews \u2013<\/h3>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:15px\">Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>(function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);if(d.getElementById(id))return;js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=\"<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has come under intense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}