Agree. But one thing is for sure. Saka will always stay a humble kid. He knows its not good enough.
He has shown no sign of relaxing or taking it easy just because his spot is pretty much safe in the team. He just a a very very shitty day at the office. I think we all can agree on that.
We need to take more notes from Cityās rotation. Swap out a player or two here and there but keep the overall bones the same.
I know Saka has the gravity factor but definitely feels like we could get enough out of Nelson when Saka needs a rest.
Saka is the franchise lads. You donāt see Peo hooking Haaland, you donāt see Mbappe getting hooked.
This is his status in the team.
Agree on his performance though, he was poor. Just nothing came off from him.
We were really poor from the right throughout the whole game.
Pep subbed Haaland a lot last season when they were home and hosed. Arteta doesnāt seem keen to do the same with Saka
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And Mbappe is playing most of his games against factory workers and milkmen so itās not a big deal to play the full 90
I donāt think Saka should be beyond getting subbed off. His status isnāt that elevated imho
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That shoulndāt be his status because he isnāt as great as they are.
Weak management is what I call it.
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The last thing he needs right now is to go play a bunch of England games.
@Bavin I wonder if we did a better job at controlling matches from the start and getting to 3-0 or 3ā1 by 75 minutes that you could actually take Saka off. But we seem to always be scrambling around to either break the deadlock or pull even that Arteta isnāt going to take him off.
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Saka should take a break, thatās it.
I want a fresh Saka, but he looks jaded with slow legs and reaction.
Just like last season where he had like 10 games of trash performances at the tail end of the season. Shouldāve been rested, but Arteta refused. Ended up costing us big time.
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You mean when City were in game management mode and were navigating through a very difficult schedule. How many times have we been in that position?
Haaland played a full game yesterday, and he got his hat trick in the end.
Ronaldo and Messi are out there playing full 90 minutes every week at 38 and 36 respectively. Itās how these players.
Anyway, Iām all for resting Saka here and there but Martinelli getting subbed was moreso because he got gassed in the end and Martinelliās energy is one of his best traits. Saka still had energy in the tank and he did end up playing a big role in us winning.
Heās Starboy, he is great but he was a steaming pile of shit today.
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We won plenty of games last year pretty easily so Iām not sure I buy this. Arteta regularly takes Ode out towards the end and Iād say he is our biggest influence overall.
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Happened lots towards the start of the season
I have noticed that, which is a weird sub for me because Iād love to keep him on plus someone like Jorginho to bore the opposition to death.
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When players werenāt fit yet because City started later on than others? And that was just for one game really, the Community Shield.
How many minutes has he played the last five games?
Got subbed off 5 times in their first 11 games. Same 11 games Saka played all but 18 minutes.
Again, same question, how many minutes has Haaland played the last 5 games?
I know the answer so Iāll just proceed to the point. He played full 90 in the last four and was subbed off after 80 minutes against Burnley when the game was done.
We all know Saka is playing way too many minutes but thatās usual for most top players, especially the ones that strive to be the best.
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Thing is, being guaranteed 90 minutes despite being out of form doesnāt do good for the dressing room. Also, being rested(benched) every now and then may be a blessing in disguise for him as well.
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Last 5 games sample is stupid because we are talking about a larger pattern with Saka.
Iām not saying youāre wrong that top players play a lot of minutes but the point here is Saka is probably playing too many.
And itās funny you mention Haaland being subbed vs Burnley when the game was done cos thatās what some of us are asking Arteta to look at doing.
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