Mikel Arteta uses a number of different ways to motivate his Arsenal players.

The Spaniard has been the Gunners’ boss for nearly seven years now, and almost every player in the squad has been recruited or promoted by him.

The one exception is Bukayo Saka, who was given his first-team debut by Unai Emery when he was still the manager. Yet, Arteta shares a close bond with the Englishman and has helped him develop into one of the best players in the world over the last few years.

However, that development is nowhere near complete, and Arteta is still doing everything he can to get the best out of Saka.

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How Bukayo Saka reacted after Mikel Arteta said he ‘killed’ him in his press conference

Mikel Arteta is a very demanding manager, and everyone in the squad is aware of it.

In his press conference before the game against Lille in the Champions League, the Arsenal boss was asked a few questions about Saka and his evolution.

Arteta ruthlessly claimed that his number seven should be aiming to score two or three goals every single game, instead of having a collective target like 20 goals a season. He was very adamant that the latter would not work.

Saka must have received that loud and clear, as in the game against Lille on Tuesday night, the Arsenal star came off the bench, assisted a goal and then scored once himself, all in the space of six minutes.

After the game, Arteta was asked if his pre-match motivation worked.

He replied, as per Arsenal.com: “I’m very happy and welcome if that’s the case. He wasn’t feeling too good yesterday and today because he had a sort of illness; he wasn’t ready to start, but he was really keen to contribute to the team if it was needed. He came on, had a real impact, with real quality.

“After the press conference, I went, and he was on the massage table, and I said: ‘Bukayo, I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow!’ And he was laughing.

“He knows me. He knows we have these kinds of things, and he takes it because he wants to be the best version of himself. In order to do that, you have to set big objectives and challenges and try to raise them, by working and being consistent. He has the ability to do it.”

Bukayo Saka is on track to have his best season at Arsenal

Saka’s best season as an Arsenal player came in the 2023/24 season, when he scored 20 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions.

The two campaigns following that were affected by injuries, but the England international looks very fresh now, and his numbers are backing that up.

The Arsenal number seven has four goals and an assist in seven starts already this season. That is despite the fact that he hasn’t looked at his best in a few of those fixtures – Saka was really poor against Leeds.

However, if the Hale End graduate continues at the same rate, he should be able to score more than 20 goals this term. That would make this his best goalscoring season ever.