**TalkSport radio host Adrian Durham has bashed Mikel Arteta over how the Arsenal boss has managed the fitness of arguably the most important player in the Gunners’ squad.**
Arsenal visited Selhurst Park last Saturday with hopes of maintaining their faint title hopes which has seen them slip down to third place in the Premier League table behind Liverpool and Chelsea.
The Gunners did come out of the trip to Crystal Palace with a big 5-1 win on the road but the victory was slightly overshadowed by an injury suffered by star winger Bukayo Saka in the first half.
The 23-year-old is now set to miss several weeks of action as Arsenal prepare for a very important run of fixtures in the festive period and the month of January.
Speaking on TalkSport on Tuesday, host Adrian Durham slammed Mikel Arteta for his failure to rest Saka in games where there was an obvious chance to rotate his squad or hand the England international a much-needed rest.
“How many times have we heard this season that Bukayo Saka is a doubt or carrying a knock or an injury and he still plays (a game) for Arsenal?” Durham said on [TalkSport](https://youtu.be/xXr-ezBXyy4?feature=shared)
“Hear me out because I think Mikel Arteta is 100% the one to blame on this. Arsenal were 3-0 up at Preston in the Carabao Cup and Saka came on as a substitute.
“5-1 up against Sporting and Saka plays the whole 90 minutes. 3-0 up at home against Monaco and Saka plays the whole 90 minutes.
“This is terrible management of a player who has played over 200 games at 23. Arteta has to hold his hands up and accept that he got this wrong”
**Share your thoughts on whether you agree with Durham or not.**