Mikel Arteta has explained how he is keeping two of his most impressive players focused on every game this season.
Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League standing, eight points clear of defending champions Manchester City after another impressive home victory on Sunday.
Two young Arsenal forwards, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have been on fire this season, hitting double figures for goals and assists.
England international Saka has already scored 11 Premier League goals and has 10 assists to his name this season. In contrast, fellow forward Gabriel Martinelli leads the Gunners in goals in the league with 13 and 3 assists.
After witnessing his team brush aside Crystal Palace in front of a packed crowd at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta explains what he does and says to the two youngsters who are among one of the finest duos in the league.
READ MORE: Three lessons from Arsenal’s impressive victory over Crystal Palace
The Spanish tactician said:
“Just by making sure that every single day they do the right things. They eat the right things, they live the right way and everything that they put into this brain is the right information and they don’t get confused because it’s about tomorrow, it’s about the next day and it’s about the next match.
“This is what we have to do and to be fair, they have the right environment, the right family and the right agent and it’s not a coincidence that they behave consistently in the way that they do because that’s why they can perform at the level that they do.”
Saka finished last season as Arsenal’s top scorer with 11 goals and 7 assists in the league. He has surpassed that achievement this season with 10 matches remaining. He has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, with 12 of those coming in the Premier League – both of which are the highest totals in a single campaign in his career.
The 21-year-old also became the first Arsenal player in double figures for both goals and assists in a Premier League season since Alexis Sánchez in 2016-17.
While Martinelli is 3 goals away from equaling Roberto Firminio’s record (16 goals) as the highest ever scoring Brazilian in a single Premier League season.
