Mikel Arteta jokes Arsenal 'always have a stick ready' to knock Bukayo Saka back down to earth should the England star ever let the hype go to his head... as Gunners boss heaps praise on 'humble' winger

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Mikel Arteta has joked that Arsenal 'always have a stick ready' to knock Bukayo Saka back down to earth, should the England star ever let the hype go to his head.

Saka's star continues to rise, with his performance in England's recent win over Ukraine inviting yet more praise for the 21-year-old.

Saka has also led Arsenal's title charge and Arteta said: 'He's going to have to deal with that, the expectations of the media, attention on the pitch - when you want to fulfil a role like the one he has at the moment, you need to be capable of doing that. We have to help him. 

'So don't read too much, don't listen too much, just focus on what you have to do every day. That's it.' 

The manager added: 'We don't know if he is aware of that (hype). We don't know how much he reads, how much we allow him to read and listen. And we always have a stick ready, don't worry!'

Bukayo Saka has one of a number of standout players for Arsenal on their march to the title

Mikel Arteta hailed the winger's humble nature - but joked he will try to keep his feet on the ground

Arteta pointed out that, following his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final, Saka has already come through attention of a rather different kind.

'He does it in a really natural way,' the manager said. 'He's so humble, he's very intelligent. He knows where this is coming from and he knows it's like a cloud, here one moment and gone tomorrow. 

'So keep moving in the right direction, make sure that the sun hits you in the right moment and have the right energy. Keep your eyes open and be alert because this industry is very tough.'

The Arsenal boss said Saka remains the same boy that he encountered on taking over in 2019.

'Absolutely - the way he talks to people, the chef, the people at the entrance to the training ground, how he behaves every single day, how he treats people, that's because he has been raised like that... and we want to make sure he keeps like that.'

Arteta is also convinced that Saka still has 'still has a lot of things to improve', adding: 'I have talked to coaches who have been in different sports for 50 years and one day I asked them one question: have you ever coached a player that has fulfilled, in your opinion, his potential? And the answer from all five of them was no. And you're talking there about Michael Jordan and people like that... everyone can get better.'