Mikel Arteta repeated one big mistake during Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid and nobody’s talking about it

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Arsenal picked up an emphatic 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

The Gunners were the better side from start to finish at the Emirates, and Mikel Arteta, unsurprisingly, was a happy man after the game.

Arsenal have a ton of positives to take from their display against Atleti, but we observed one problem that nobody is talking about.

That concerns Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta repeated a big mistake with Bukayo Saka during Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

Saka is one of Arsenal’s most important players.

When the England international is fit, he starts, and Arteta wants him on the pitch more often than not. That has led to a lot of criticism in recent years.

Arsenal fans have always felt that their manager doesn’t give Saka enough of a break, and that, in many people’s opinion, is what led to his hamstring injury last season.

With all the new signings in the summer, Gooners hoped that Saka would get some rest, but against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, he didn’t.

The Gunners went 2-0 up in the 64th minute, 3-0 up in the 67th and 4-0 up in the 70th. Saka could’ve been withdrawn after any of those goals, but he was made to play the entire game.

That was on the back of the Englishman playing the full 90 minutes against Fulham on Saturday as well.

Yes, Noni Madueke, who is Saka’s backup, is out injured, but the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri could’ve all played on the right flank.

Saka got through the game without any injuries, which is great, but Arteta must use moments like these to give his star man a break.

Not doing so increases the risk of injury, which would be catastrophic for Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes.

Freddie Ljungberg’s advice about Bukayo Saka has been ignored

This isn’t the first time Arteta has used Saka for the whole game when he didn’t have to.

The Arsenal manager is not wrong to want his best player on the pitch all the time, but with the schedule and demands tougher than ever, he should rest him more often.

That’s exactly what Freddie Ljungberg told him in 2023, but that advice has clearly been ignored.

The Arsenal Invincible said, as per the Metro: “I have been a little bit like ‘rest him a little bit’. I felt he’s played a bit too much. He’s still young, and you say they can run as much as they can when they’re young.

“Rest him! He’s the most important player, give him a break sometimes.”