Mikel Arteta has cleared up why Bukayo Saka was so poor against Crystal Palace

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Mikel Arteta commented on Bukayo Saka’s substitution after Arsenal’s win against Crystal Palace.

Thomas Tuchel was in attendance to watch Arsenal’s England representatives against Crystal Palace. 

The Three Lions boss would’ve loved what he saw from Eberechi Eze, who scored against Crystal Palace to give Arsenal a crucial three points. 

Saka, on the other hand, might not have left a lasting impression on Tuchel, but any blushes over his lacklustre performance have been spared by Arteta. 

• READ MORE: Mikel Arteta did something for the first time in 393 days vs Crystal Palace and it worked for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta shares Bukayo Saka fitness update after Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace

Arsenal’s win was a huge positive as Manchester City and Liverpool lost on matchday nine.

That being said, it wasn’t all rosy for the Gunners, as after the game, Arteta confirmed there are fitness concerns.

William Saliba was injured against Palace, and at full-time, Gabriel Martinelli was spotted limping, but they weren’t the only ones to struggle. 

In his post-match press conference, Arteta confirmed that Saka has been battling illness and was even a doubt to play the fixture.

“He [Saka] has been ill. He has not trained. We didn’t know if he was going to be able to play,” the Arsenal manager revealed.

“He managed to play a few minutes, but the longer the game went, he was going to fatigue, and we didn’t want to risk injury.”

Arteta cleared up why Saka was hooked after just 66 minutes, which, in turn, explained why the winger was not impactful against the Eagles.

Clear to see Saka was far from his best against Crystal Palace

After Saka tortured Atletico Madrid in midweek, Arsenal fans wouldn’t have recognised the number seven on show at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. 

As seen by his match statistics, Saka was unable to influence the game as he would’ve hoped, which was partly due to how well Crystal Palace marshalled the right side.

The usually creative and exciting winger was reduced to just one shot on goal and failed to record a single key pass. 

It was a tough afternoon for Saka, which was to be expected from the forward, who has clearly had a difficult week behind the scenes.