Arteta reveals how he tested Bukayo Saka

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has confessed to playing Bukayo Saka in different positions in order to “test” him.

Since bursting onto the scene, Saka has been used as a full-back, a wing-back and also as a forward.

Arteta has now praised the 19-year-old’s ability to make decisions on the pitch and concedes he deliberately mixed up his positions.

When quizzed on Saka’s top qualities he told Sky Sports : “Intelligence.

“We talk about physicality, we talk about spirit, we talk about technique. But the brain is the one that makes all the decisions.

“‘B’ makes a lot of good decisions because he is such an intelligent player who can read situations. After that, of course, he has the ability to execute them the right way and that’s obviously a big quality.

“It took me a while to figure him out. That’s why I tried to play him in different positions, to see how he reacted.

“I wanted to test his character as well because he was playing as a left-back and I know it wasn’t his ideal position but he had to go through that period.”