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Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has expressed his surprise at a decision of Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace on January 20. The Spanish manager kept Bukayo Saka on the pitch for the entirety of the clash as they strolled to victory in their Premier League return.
Recent weeks have been testing for Arteta and his Arsenal side as they suffered their biggest slump in two seasons. The winter break came at the right time for them as they were on a run of one win in seven games across competitions. They had fallen to fourth in the Premier League.
However, they bounced back brilliantly, hammering Palace 5-0. Walcott, though, was perplexed at the decision of Arteta to hand Saka another 90 minutes in the match.
Speaking with the BBC, the former England international revealed that he expects the young forward's minutes to be managed better:
“As a former player I look at the bigger picture, and now wonder why Bukayo Saka hasn’t been subbed off yet. The sort of player he is, the fact he gets kicked all over the pitch most games, Leandro Trossard has just come off, but Saka with all the games he plays is still out there.
"It will be interesting to see what Mikel Arteta’s next change is."
Bukayo Saka has played 20 of the Gunners' 21 games this season in the Premier League, missing only one game through injury. The 22-year-old forward has played 97.7% of the league minutes when he has been available this season, showcasing his remarkable fitness.
Being a former winger himself, Walcott is aware of the dangers that may result from the manager overplaying Saka. The winger was the subject of a club report to the Premier League weeks ago about persistent fouling he faced from opposition defenders.
Arsenal thrash Crystal Palace to return to winning ways
Arsenal returned to winning ways in front of their fans against a hapless Crystal Palace side. They ran away with a 5-0 win to climb up to third place in the Premier League standings, two points off Liverpool at the top, who have a game in hand.
Gabriel Magalhaes headed the Gunners into the lead in the 11th minute. He then forced an own goal from goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 37th minute to make it 2-0 in the first half. A quick counterattack midway through the second half saw Leandro Trossard fire home a third for this home side at the hour mark.
Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench in the closing stages and scored twice in two minutes in stoppage time to seal the win for Arsenal. The Gunners have 10 days before their next match, a league meeting with Nottingham Forest at City Ground.
