Bukayo Saka says Mikel Arteta is encouraging him to be willing to play lots of games, both for himself and for Arsenal.

Bukayo Saka has had another busy season, playing 44 games for Arsenal with another four league games remaining, in addition to a few appearances for England.

Saka’s season won’t end on May 19th, with the European Championships coming up this summer. The winger will certainly be involved with England if he’s fit, and he’ll hope England are in the competition until the very end.

If that’s the case, Saka won’t conclude his 2023/24 campaign until July 14th, just under two weeks before Arsenal’s first scheduled fixture of pre-season on July 27th – a U.S. fixture against Manchester United.

The Gunners might even have earlier pre-season matches, as they don’t normally kick things off with the U.S. tour. There’s usually a game somewhere in Europe before that.

Yet Saka says all this match action is no surprise to him, as it’s something Mikel Arteta warned him about and encouraged him to face head-on.

“He [Mikel] told me the elite players all do it, so if I want to get to that level I have to be ready to play that many games and try and help my team win each of those games as well,” Saka said.

“I just want to try and be myself and do what’s required to play and win for Arsenal…you have to be 100 per cent focused on every game.”

Arsenal have certainly seen the rewards of Saka’s performances, with his 32 goal contributions helping the Gunners into Premier League title contention.

But Saka’s reputation has also benefitted from a busy season, and he’ll surely be among the contenders for Premier League Player of the Year if Arsenal can lift the title.

The worry is that the long-term effects of so many games could potentially be damaging to the player’s fitness. That’s something the medical staff will have to manage.