Arsenal take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday evening with the opportunity to open up a nine-point lead at the top but Mikel Arteta opted to drop Bukayo Saka
17:52, 17 Jan 2026
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at City Ground on January 17, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Bukayo Saka was named on the bench against Nottingham Forest(Image: Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta has revealed why Bukayo Saka was dropped for Arsenal's contest with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The Gunners have the opportunity to establish a massive nine-point advantage at the Premier League summit. This comes after title contenders Manchester City suffered their fourth consecutive match without victory, losing 2-0 to Manchester United. Meanwhile, Aston Villa - who are level on points with City - aren't in action until Sunday.
Arteta made three alterations to the team that defeated Chelsea 3-2 in Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. David Raya took over from Kepa Arrizabalaga between the posts whilst Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli replaced Saka and Leandro Trossard.
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal (C) warms up prior to the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at City Ground on January 17, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Saka's minutes have been closely monitored by Mikel Arteta(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Speaking to TNT Sports, Arteta explained: "We have a lot of games, so freshness. The capacity as well to change the game in any moment and a profile of wingers that we think will suit what we want to do in the game well."
Last week, the Arsenal boss emphasised his desire to 'protect' Saka to ensure he 'gets the best out of him'. "We have to be very smart," Arteta added.
"The minutes he has played, the load that he is going through as well. It's unique at his age, since he started with us. I want to protect him to get the best out of him, which is the ultimate goal."
Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres kept his spot up front, having broken a 10-game streak without a goal from open play at Chelsea. When asked if Gyokeres has the chance to build on this, Arteta responded: "Yes, and maintain now the momentum that he's built after the great performance that he had against Chelsea and we go again."
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However, it won't be straightforward, as Arteta commended Sean Dyche's team. "First of all, he leads a really good team," the Gunners boss continued.
"They have a large squad, they performed exceptionally well last year and I think Sean brings a high level of organisation, experience in the league and he knows how to manage games very well."
On the opportunity to extend their lead by nine points, Arteta added: "We are where we want to be, and we know the amount of work we still have to do and the difficulty of every game, so we just focus on that."