Mikel Arteta issues RUTHLESS goalscoring challenge to Bukayo Saka as Arsenal boss demands superstar level output

Saka currently leads the scoring charts for Arsenal with three goals from their opening six Premier League fixtures. However, his manager believes the winger is capable of producing a significantly higher return. The 25-year-old registered 20 goals across all competitions during his standout 2023-24 campaign, but Arteta wants him to abandon long-term targets.

The England international has squandered several high-profile chances in recent weeks. Saka failed to convert a late one-on-one opportunity against Leeds United goalkeeper James Trafford on Saturday, adding to previous misses against Sunderland and Napoli in the Champions League.

When asked if Saka should be aiming to match his 20-goal milestone from last season, Arteta dismissed the idea. The Arsenal boss instead outlined a new, aggressive approach for his forward.

"No, I think the numbers should go to score two or three per game," Arteta explained. "That's it. That's the mindset. And then if you score one, so be it, you score two, so be it, because he has the ability to score in many ways."

The Spaniard stressed that calculating long-term tallies can hinder a striker's edge.

"But normally, if you go to all the attackers, and that's the way, I think you have to attack something," he added. "Because if you go '20, OK, now we are in October, I still have eight months to score 17 more goals.' That's not the mindset, that's not going to take you there."

To facilitate this elevated output, Arsenal have consciously worked on getting Saka into central areas closer to the six-yard box. This tactical tweak has already yielded close-range finishes against Coventry and Aston Villa, alongside a pair of tap-ins for England against Croatia during the international break.

"That is where we need to get him," Arteta noted regarding Saka's evolving positional play. "If he misses the chance, so be it. At the end, the more volume we generate, the bigger the probability of him scoring more goals. He has been getting in great positions, getting shots, getting one-touch finishes and tap-ins."

Arteta believes this evolution makes his star winger much harder to track, adding: "That is the kind of unpredictability we have with that player, otherwise we know how the opponent is going to defend him."

Despite recent misses, Arteta remains fully confident in his winger's trajectory. The focus now shifts to ensuring Saka maintains this sheer volume of chances in upcoming fixtures.

"He is doing well. He could have had another four or five goals by now, easily," Arteta concluded. "But if he continues like that, we know [he will score more]. When he talks about scoring a certain amount of goals, he needs to be thinking about scoring a certain amount of goals per game. If that shifts, that mentality, he will get into those positions and score more goals."