{"id":427935,"date":"2026-02-16T01:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/427935\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T01:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:47:09","slug":"mikel-arteta-hints-at-a-new-arsenal-role-for-bukayo-saka-after-they-beat-wigan-athletic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/427935\/","title":{"rendered":"Mikel Arteta hints at a new Arsenal role for Bukayo Saka after they beat Wigan Athletic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

Arsenal cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years to keep their hopes of winning the quadruple alive.<\/p>\n

An early onslaught of goals was too much for Wigan and in the end, Arsenal\u2019s class showed.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta went with a strong starting XI for the clash as he took no chances and he also moved a few players from their more natural positions. <\/p>\n

One of those to switch roles was Bukayo Saka. Instead of playing wide, Saka played more towards the middle as a number ten and at times, looked excellent.<\/p>\n

Who would you most like to face next in the FA Cup and who would you like Arsenal to avoid? <\/p>\n

\"ACredit: Getty Images\/Catherine Ivill <\/p>\n

And speaking on Saka\u2019s role at the club, Arteta admitted afterwards it\u2019s something to ponder.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka can play centrally for Arsenal <\/p>\n

Arsenal have got so much out of Bukayo Saka<\/a> in the last few seasons that he\u2019s become the first name on the team sheet in that wide right area.<\/p>\n

However, with Noni Madueke playing well and Martin Odegaard not at his best, there is a chance here for Saka to take his chance in the middle.<\/p>\n

\"ArsenalPhoto by James Fearn\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Indeed, Mikel Arteta<\/a> admitted he might well use Saka there again in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s a possibility and I wanted to try it and we might use it in the future. There are still so many games, competitions and different scenarios to play in the season and that\u2019s a possibility that we have,\u201d Arteta admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more central. It\u2019s closer to the goal. It\u2019s a bit more difficult for the opponent to get his reference constantly. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe can interchange positions with the wide player as well and he\u2019s so good at picking those spaces and when he\u2019s there, he can really hurt you with the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could Bukayo Saka be like Cole Palmer for Arsenal?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an interesting comparison to be made here when we look at Saka and Palmer.<\/p>\n

When Chelsea signed Palmer, many thought he was an out and out wide player. However, he showed under Enzo Maresca that he was more than that, often playing as Chelsea\u2019s number ten and drifting where he wanted to cause trouble.<\/p>\n

Arsenal fans, what did you honestly think about Bukayo Saka\u2019s performance as a midfielder? <\/p>\n

\"BukayoPhoto by Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC via Getty Images <\/p>\n

That will be something Mikel Arteta has seen and when he looks at Saka, he might feel he can get a bit of what Palmer does out of him.<\/p>\n

Both players are different in style but they are equal in quality. With Saka impressing today, this has only strengthened Arteta\u2019s hand for the season run-in.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google Arsenal cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[4202,218,2119,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-427935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-bukayo-saka","tag-football","tag-mikel-arteta","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}