One Premier League manager has now explained how he sets up his side to target Arsenal star Bukayo Saka.
Bukayo Saka is a key player for club and country.
The talismanic Arsenal winger is currently competing at Euro 2024, representing England in the tournament.
Iconic former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Saka for his recent displays for the Three Lions, claiming that the 22-year-old has been one of the most exciting players to watch in the competition so far.
Saka is certainly an important player to Mikel Arteta at the Emirates Stadium. The Hale End academy graduate made 47 appearances for the Gunners last season, across all competitions, racking up 20 goals and 14 assists.
It is remarkable how much the winger has achieved already in his career. Saka is now a marked man, and opponents are all too often reduced to foul play as a means of stopping him. Arsenal have called upon the PGMOL to offer Saka more protection.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank reveals method for stopping Arsenal star Bukayo Saka
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has now given his insight into how he sets up his side to manage the threat posed by Saka when the Bees face Arsenal in the Premier League.
Speaking on the BBC (20/06/2024, 16:47), in his capacity as a Euro 2024 pundit, the Danish coach revealed: “We try to double up on him – he’s the key player. Close down his left foot, actually let him go on his right [foot] if you can’t close everything, that’s the biggest thing.”
Saka is aware that he is regularly targeted in such a manner and has spoken out about the impact that this additional attention from defenders has had on his game.
It is a compliment to Saka that he is afforded such focus, and the task facing him now is to find a way to consistently overcome this challenge. If he can do that then he will truly establish himself as one of the elite players in the game.
In the meantime, his full focus will be on continuing to impress for England. Saka has so far been able to succeed where Phil Foden has largely failed, in that he has been able to thrive within Gareth Southgate’s tactical setup, despite it contrasting wildly with what he is used to at Arsenal.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.