The warning Saka MUST take from Arsenal icon

Cameron Smith

22 Mar 2024 07:41 GMT
4 min read

Bukayo Saka has withdrawn from England’s squad as a precaution, with the Arsenal winger now set to miss the Three Lions’ March international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

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The 22-year-old was expected to start during at least one of England’s matches as Gareth Southgate’s first-choice right winger, but he has pulled out of the squad after failing to feature in any training session since reporting for duty at St George’s Park.

Saka has returned to Arsenal’s training base for “continued rehabilitation,” as per an FA statement, and he now faces a race against time to be fully fit for the Gunners’ crucial Premier League match against Manchester City on 31 March.

He is the second member of Mikel Arteta’s squad to withdraw from international duty this month after Gabriel Magalhaes did the same for Brazil.

Bukayo Saka: Jack Wilshere 2.0?

Saka has been fouled 50 times during this season’s Premier League campaign, the eighth most of any player, and he has racked up over 3,000 minutes of action in all competitions in 2023-24. Furthermore, he has featured in all but one of Arsenal's league matches since 2021.

The lack of a back-up right winger at Arsenal and Arteta’s reliance on the Englishman means Saka is barely ever afforded a rest. As a result, he risks his career heading in the same direction as former Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere.

Wilshere burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced teenager and was soon dominating a midfield battle against prime Barcelona. However, injuries hampered his career and he was forced to retire at the age of 30, having only once played over 25 Premier League games in a single season for Arsenal.

Incredibly, Saka has already amassed more minutes for Arsenal (16,557) at the age of just 21 than Wilshere did during his entire career (13,367). The Hale End starboy may be seen as indestructible now, but he is simply playing far too much football.

Wilshere recently appeared on the William Hill Up Front podcast and he discussed the huge injury troubles he endured during his career.

“After that 2010/11 season when I picked up my injury, I was never the same player, I played with physical pain every single day,” he said, as per The Mirror. “Mentally I was still there, probably a little bit stronger in that respect, but it was a bad injury, one that was career-threatening.

“The doctors hadn't really seen it before and they had to get two surgeons in and I went from this kid who was just playing football and loving it every day, playing in the Champions League with no fear and then it was just taken all away from me.

“I'm sitting in front of two doctors and they're telling me that I might never play again. I think maybe I played too much, but I remember in the first year that they implemented the GPS into training to track us and people said they understood it, but they didn't really.

Wilshere continued: “They speak about the 'red zone' these days and if a player is in that red zone, then they're in danger, but I remember having conversations with medical staff and they told me I may need to take my foot off the gas and I'm there saying, 'What? I'm an 18-year-old who's playing week in week out in the Premier League, that's not happening!’”

Saka may not have endured a potentially career-ending injury yet, but he is playing more football than Wilshere did during the early days of his time at Arsenal and his minutes must be managed, somehow, over the next few years.

Read more about: Premier League, Arsenal, Bukayo Saka