Mikel Arteta has accepted Bukayo Saka will have to accept being a target for defenders after picking up a knock in Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa.
The winger, 21, scored his tenth goal of the season in the Gunners’ dramatic comeback win at Villa Park on Saturday.
But he sparked injury concerns when going down in the first half after a challenge with Alex Moreno and required treatment later in the game, receiving heavy strapping from the Arsenal phsio.
Arteta said post-match: “[Saka]’s fine - he got kicked quite a lot again.
“But he’s going to have to deal with that, not every week, but every three days. Sometimes in training as well. It’s his game - teams are not stupid and they want to stop him. We need to protect him.”
The Arsenal boss outlined plans to discuss how best to protect Saka, including speaking to the Premier League if the player is on the end of any rough treatment.
He added: “We will discuss that. We will look at the images again and report it if it’s necessary.”
