Arteta must rest Saka to unleash Arsenal gem who’s “like Wilshere”

While they have yet to win anything, Arsenal now have arguably the best squad in the Premier League.

Whether it’s the outrageously stacked defence, the midfield or up top, Mikel Arteta has an abundance of talent to pick from every week, and his second-string side would probably give some teams a good game.

Yet, even with the embarrassment of riches at his disposal, most fans and pundits alike would agree that his best and most important player remains Bukayo Saka.

Yet, even so, the manager should be looking to take the Englishman out of the lineup for the Champions League game against Olympiacos.

Why Saka should be dropped

Now, there is, of course, a compelling argument that Arsenal should field their best players in a European game like this.

However, even though that’s a totally valid point of view, and one that most might hold, there are a few reasons why Saka should be dropped.

First and foremost, Arteta needs to protect the Hale End superstar from being overplayed and picking up any more injuries.

After all, he missed almost four months of action due to hamstring surgery last season, and then missed a few weeks earlier this year due to an injury to his other hamstring.

Moreover, since returning from his recent setback, the 24-year-old “legend in the making,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has already made three appearances, including two starts in the last two games.

In other words, he’s already had the chance to regain a significant amount of match sharpness and therefore doesn’t need to start a third game in seven days.

Second, if the North Londoners were playing a title rival or one of the real big boys in Europe, then there would be an argument to risk another start given his importance to the team.

However, without being disrespectful, Olympiacos are one of the easier opponents the Gunners will face this season, with UEFA ranking them 37th in their coefficients, behind the likes of Bodo/Glimt, PSV Eindhoven and Club Brugge.

Finally, there is also no need to play Saka, as Arteta already has the perfect option to start in his stead, and no, it’s not Max Dowman.

The Arsenal star who should start ahead of Saka

There will be plenty of fans who want to see Dowman come in from the start against Olympiacos, and while there is undoubtedly an argument to throw him in the deep end, it might be a little too much too soon.

Especially when Arteta already has the perfect option to start in Saka and the 15-year-old’s place: Ethan Nwaneri.

Speaking about him during the early stages of Nwaneri’s development, Mikel Arteta noted that the teenager is “a little bit like Jack Wilshere,” and that may suggest why he’s been getting more game time in the middle of the park recently.

That looks likely to be his long-term position, but it would make perfect sense to start the Hale Ender off the right against the Greek outfit.

The most significant argument for doing so is that the 18-year-old dynamo already has a decent amount of experience playing out there and put up some good numbers when doing so last season.

For example, in 37 appearances, totalling just 1378 minutes, the dynamic gem scored nine goals and provided two assists, which comes out to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.36 games, or every 125.27 minutes.

In other words, the manager can rest assured that starting the “phenomenal” talent, as dubbed by former professional Stephen Warnock, would not be detrimental to the side’s attacking output.

Another reason the Spaniard should be playing academy product is that, now that he has been tied down to a long-term contract, he needs to be given ample opportunities to play first-team football and continue his impressive development.

So, while a start against Newcastle United, for example, might be too risky, the same cannot really be said about a European fixture in which the Gunners are big favourites.

Ultimately, Saka needs to be rested and protected to ensure he does not suffer another injury, and though Dowman should feature against Olympiacos, it should be Nwaneri who starts the game off the right.