Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka is being troubled by an Achilles problem that ‘dogged him last season’, according to a report.

Saka had a brilliant 2022/23 campaign, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists in the Premier League.

His value has soared all the way up to £103million (Transfermarkt) and it is fair to say he is now one of Arsenal and England’s most important players.

The 22-year-old has played in 84 consecutive Premier League matches for Arsenal, eclipsing Paul Merson’s previous record of 82.

While this is an incredible achievement, it emphasises how much Mikel Arteta has relied on Saka and the lack of rest he has had over the last three years.

And remarkably, it has been reported that the England winger has been dealing with a niggling Achilles problem for quite some time.

According to the Daily Mail, ‘Saka continues to be nagged by an Achilles problem that dogged him last season’.

The 30-cap international started against Ukraine last Saturday before coming off the bench against Scotland on Tuesday, with Arteta ‘blowing a sigh of relief’ that his star man has come back from the international break unscathed.

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Saka’s high workload has been a bit of a talking point in recent weeks.

In late August, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood praised the youngster, who is “made of different stuff” and was Arsenal’s “best player” last season.

“He wants to work hard, he wants to prove to Mikel Arteta that he is the real deal,” Sherwood said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.

“The durability of him to play that amount of games, everyone talks about now, ‘Oh the games come thick and fast and they need a break and rest period’, this boy doesn’t.

“This boy is made of different stuff. You know, if you left him out and said, ‘I want to rest you’, he’d be devastated. He wants to play every single week and why wouldn’t you?

“He’s at one of the biggest clubs in the country, he’s got all the facilities in the world.

“He’s got a magnificent young manager who believes in him…I can’t speak highly enough of him, from the academy, the best player they had last season and probably going to be the player of the season this year, one of their own.”

And Gunners legend Ian Wright has said this week that the “only thing” that can stop Saka is the fact he gets “kicked all over the place” every time he steps onto the pitch.

“This is why everyone is so worried when he is kicked all over the place,” Wright said on the Handbrake Off podcast. “That is the only thing that is going to stop him.

“Every time he is kicked and you see him played in games you think, ‘Could he have been rested in this game? Does he need to be playing?’

“Sometimes you are worried because if Arsenal are to achieve anything, he is going to be one of the main reasons we get to what we want to get to. I think we’ll get there. But as long as he is managed very well.”

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The article Arsenal’s ‘best player’ continues to be ‘nagged’ by Achilles ‘problem’ that ‘dogged him’ in 2022/23 appeared first on Football365.com.