“That is where we need to get him,” said the Gunners boss before the game. “And if he misses the chance, so be it. At the end, the more volume we generate, the bigger the probability of him scoring more goals.”
Saka’s strike against Lille was a confident one-touch finish and came after he missed a late one-on-one opportunity in Saturday’s Premier League victory over Leeds.
“He has been getting in great positions, getting shots, getting one-touch finishes and tap-ins,” added Arteta.
“That is the kind of unpredictability we have with that player, otherwise we know how the opponent is going to defend him. He is doing well, he could have had another four or five goals by now, easily. But if he continues like that, we know.
“When he talks about scoring a certain amount of goals, he needs to be thinking about scoring a certain amount of goals per game. If that shifts, that mentality, he will get into those positions and score more goals.”
Saka has scored 20 goals in a season just once in his career, which came in the 2023-24 campaign and 16 in the Premier League.
But the winger has also been in good goalscoring form for England with five in his last four matches and scored a double in the 7-0 Nations League demolition of Croatia in the recent international break.
Saka is now on 19 goals in major European competitions for Arsenal, only behind Thierry Henry (42), while he has nine assists in the Champions League which puts him behind Henry (16) and Cesc Fabregas (14).
He has refused to disclose the targets he has set himself, but Arteta welcomed Saka’s response following his message to do more in front of goal.
The Spaniard said: “I don’t know if that’s the case, but I am very happy.
“He wasn’t feeling that good yesterday and today, as he had some sort of illness. He wasn’t ready to start but he was really wanting to contribute to the team if it was needed and he came on and made a huge impact and delivered with real quality.”
Arteta revealed he also spoke to Saka after telling the media about his desire for the player to have a greater impact.
“After the press conference… I said ‘Bukayo, I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow’.
“He was laughing. He knows that we have discussed these kind of things and he takes it because he wants to be the best version of himself.
“In order to do that, you have to put big objectives and challenges and try to reason by working and being consistent – and when it doesn’t work, keep going because he has the ability to do it.”
