Mikel Arteta challenges Bukayo Saka to get ruthless and sets goal scoring target

Mikel Arteta has challenged Bukayo Saka to become even more ruthless in front of goal, telling the Arsenal winger he should approach games with the mindset of scoring “two or three” times rather than setting himself a season-long target.

Saka is already Arsenal’s leading Premier League scorer this season with three goals from the opening six matches, but Arteta clearly believes there is another level available to one of his most important attacking players.

The England international has previously reached 20 goals in all competitions, yet his manager does not want him thinking about simply matching that figure.

Arteta wants Saka thinking bigger than 20 goals

According to the Evening Standard, Arteta was asked whether Saka should be targeting another 20-goal campaign after previously hitting that mark in 2023/24.

His response was typically ambitious.

“No, I think the numbers should go to score two or three per game,” Arteta said.

“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.”

Arteta explained that setting a fixed season target can become limiting, particularly if a player starts calculating how many goals are still required with several months remaining.

For him, the focus should instead be on maximising every individual match.

Arteta is demanding massive numbers from Arsenal winger

The target sounds unrealistic on the surface, but that is not really Arteta’s point.

He is trying to change Saka’s mentality from steady accumulation to constant aggression in the final third.

According to the Premier League’s official statistics, Saka already has three league goals this season and sits among the division’s leading scorers.

That matters because Arsenal no longer need him simply to create. They need him deciding matches regularly.

Saka has the movement, finishing ability and composure to score in different ways, and Arsenal’s stronger attacking options should also create more space around him.

Arteta knows expecting two or three goals every week is impossible. The message is more about standards.

For Arsenal to defend their Premier League title and push deep into Europe again, Saka has to think like one of the world’s elite forwards rather than simply one of the league’s best wingers.