Bukayo Saka has defiantly claimed that ‘the hunger to win’ drives his determination to rise from the canvas whenever felled by overly aggressive defenders.
The 22-year-old is routinely on the receiving end of robust challengers from opponents, and despite social media jibes for regular sightings of him hobbling late on in games, he is rarely absent from Arsenal’s starting XI.
Saka has missed only two Premier League games in the last three seasons, with both coming during this campaign.
The winger claimed that his desire to succeed enables him to deal with the blows and he opened up on his thought process when assessing which challenges to contest.
‘The hunger to win keeps me going, that’s why I keep getting up,’ he told The Guardian. ‘I’m physically much stronger than I was four or five years ago. For each tackle I have more experience in terms of which ones to go for and which ones to jump, to try to avoid a big tackle. So I’m much smarter as well.’
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions for the Gunners this term
The 22-year-old is often targeted by opposition defenders, yet he remains nearly ever-present in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI
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The England international has equalled his tally of 14 league goals achieved during a startling campaign last term, though, in recent weeks his production has fallen, with only two goal contributions in his last six outings.
Following Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa earlier this month, Saka was mocked by fans for limping again during a big game after dropping a ‘stinker’.
One said: ‘Death, taxes, Saka limping after a stinker.’
Another said: ‘Every great player has their signature move. Unfortunately Saka aint great and his is limping.’
‘Bukayo Saka Limping after a stinker it’s inevitable,’ one tweet read, while another said: ‘Bukayo Saka limping off after yet another 0 goal contribution performance in a big game.’
But despite a recent individual drop off, the Gunners have largely maintained their title-chasing form, with the likes of Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice have excelled for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Gunners currently sit a point clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, though the defending champions have a game in hand.
With only four games left to play, Arsenal have the chance to win their first league title in two decades, however tricky tests against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Everton still await.
Before then, Sunday presents arguably the toughest contest; the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Saka is again likely to be the recipient of few strong tackles from the Spurs rearguard.
But according to the forward, he has developed strategies to ensure he is still able to perform despite the special attention.
‘There are two elements,’ he added. ‘The first is that the defenders can’t do that all game. They’ll get yellow cards and then they have to stop.
‘The second element is that as an attacking player you are in the team to score goals, create goals. Part of that is going to involve having to beat defender and, yeah, they’re going to try their best to stop you.
The Gunners have the chance to open up a four-point gap over Manchester City with a win in the north London derby
‘But just because you get a kick, you can’t hide away and not do that. Because that’s what you are in the team to do.’
A win on Sunday would pile the pressure on City, who face Nottingham Forest in the last game on Sunday.
