By Danong
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's star boy, should not play against Luton on Wednesday night.
The Hale End graduate has been dealing with a minor issue for a while now; he missed England's friendlies in March owing to muscle tightness. He was able to start against Manchester City but wasn't influential as he had to perform defensive duties as well as contribute what he could in attack. He was eventually subbed off.
Mikel Arteta admitted to the media after that game that his winger has been dealing with fatigue. ‘Well, as you know, he has been out for a few weeks now with a little problem and he was feeling that fatigue. Right now he hasn’t trained. He trained one day before the match; he had a big contribution but 90 minutes were too much for him today.”
The Arsenal manager's statement describes Saka's current physical condition and, for sure, reveals, why he should be rested against Luton.
To avoid dropping points in the Premier League final stretch, Arteta must field his top players for these last nine games to pick up maximum points. But, given the talent gap between Luton and Arsenal, the Gunners can still avoid naming Saka in their starting lineup Wednesday night but still field a capable line-up to defeat the PL newcomers.
Gabriel Jesus, or even Fabio Vieira, may easily fill in for Saka against Luton. With the Brazilian attacker (or Vieira) on the right wing, Kai Havertz in the middle and Gabriel Martinelli making his first start on the left wing since the Sheffield Utd game early in March, the Gunners should have a strong line-up versus a tenacious Luton Town.
With the title schedule ahead, a full week's rest would be great for Saka to regain freshness and be fit enough to contribute massively in this captivating PL run-in.
Seeing him in the starting lineup will be shocking!
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