Arsenal have only one reason to play Bukayo Saka

Crystal Palace and Brighton are the final two fixtures for Arsenal this season, two that were it not for what is to come in the summer, Bukayo Saka should play no part in.

By this stage Bukayo Saka has shrunk by about a foot into the ground. Having carried the weight of this team on his shoulders for the vast majority of the campaign it is now clearly taking its toll.

The third most used member of the squad just behind Granit Xhaka on 3,525 minutes, the demands placed on a man of such young age who only made his Premier League debut 28 months ago has reached its peak. Saka has evolved, as Mikel Arteta puts it, from being the exciting youngster getting his chance to becoming a first team regular and Arsenal’s best player at remarkable pace.

Where Arsenal would be without the 19-year-old is a dangerous rabbit hole to venture into. Arteta has pondered that horror and is aware of the added depths his side would have sank without him, fielding Saka whenever available and in no less than seven different positions this season. Undeterred he carries out his manager’s wishes with unwavering professionalism and ingenuity.

Arsenal have only one reason to play Bukayo Saka in the Premier League as Gareth Southgate prepares to select England Euro 2020 squad

Against Chelsea he was chosen to play right wing-back while three recoginsed options for that role sat on the bench, further demonstration of the trust Arteta understandably has in his glorious talent.

His performances of late haven’t matched the level earlier this season and not a soul can begrudge him for it given the sheer volume of fixtures, positional changes and undoubted stress this campaign will have had on him.

With two dead rubber Premier League matches to come there is no reason why he should be playing in either. There are enough options in the squad to put in performances worthy of victories against Crystal Palace and Brighton. The reset button in being pressed this summer in regards to the squad. Saka should embark on his own.

No more filling in at full-back or wing-back. Give him the rest he deserves and let him recharge his batteries with full focus on being the forward player he’s mechanically functioned to be.

This should be the case, but it also can’t be. Gareth Southgate has until the final cut-off of June 1 to name his England squad for Euro 2020 and the entire Arsenal world is desperate for Saka to be picked.

Based on previous squads it appears his spot on the plane is assured, but there can be no guarantees. The extension of the squad from 23 to 26 players helped his case yet with forward options finding form when Saka is losing some of his, playing minutes for Arsenal will boost his chances at a time where he needn’t kick another ball this domestic season.

While securing as many points for Arsenal as possible this season will be Saka’s aim, in his mind there are no nothing fixtures left with each minute on the pitch an audition to convince Southgate of his value to the Three Lions.

Arteta will surely have had a knock on his door from the effervescent 19-year-old begging for his weekly inclusion. Such is his endearing eagerness.