Mikel Arteta set to make drastic Arsenal decision before PSG as Bukayo Saka plan revealed

Arsenal players will have some extra days off after Wednesday night's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace as they look to prepare for next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. In a bid to keep his squad fit but also sharp, Mikel Arteta will also be keeping his mind open to new ideas on how to manage the workload.

A change to the initial scheduling due to Palace's own semi-final commitments in Saturday's FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa means that Arsenal will have a full week between games.

The title race has long gone for Arsenal and although Arteta is not yet conceding it to Liverpool, it could be decided by the end of this week, regardless of what happens at the Emirates Stadium here.

"We have more days but the amount of options we have is not that many," . "Especially because of where some other players are coming [back from] and the amount of minutes that they can play, but it's good to have a little gap, because we are really short in numbers."

Injuries had already left Arsenal lacking in depth and a small squad has only exhaserbated those issues. Losing Jorginho and Riccardo Calafiori since the international break adds to the task ahead with able replacements across the pitch not leaping off the page.

In an attempt to keep things fresh, Arteta has admitted that he will offer his players some extra rest later this week. "They will have a day or two off and then a full preparation, three or four days about what we have to do to beat PSG," he explained.

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"We're going to have some time to recover as well, some players are going to need that and then full focus on what's coming." Arsenal will be without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Takehiro Tomiyasu as well as Jorginho and Calafiori for the first leg.

Despite bearing positive news on the Bukayo Saka front following Ipswich Town defender Leif Davis' strong tackle on Sunday, Arteta has not ruled out either being sidelined for the rest of the season, although he is hopeful of a return.

As for Saka, "we have to wait and see now how he reacts after the session, he's nothing too serious," Arteta said. "If we want to, I think he would have a good chance to play tomorrow [against Palace]."

He will now have to carefully manage his squad with the aim of balancing match fitness up but without risking injury. It is something PSG will also face.

Since bettering Villa over two legs, Enrique has been extremely cautious with his key players, though, and Arteta is hopeful of making the most of the six days he will have off after it appeared to benefit PSG previously. “It gives us more time to prepare the game," he accepted. "Very unusual. It's fine. We take it. We're very short in numbers at the moment. That little break will be good for us."

Will he be employing new methods to try and keep the focus? "Our approach is, whatever we do, what we feel is what the team needs, what the players need. If they need more tension, less tension, be more emotional, more tactical, we will try to manage to get the levels in the right way to be as prepared as possible and ready to win.

Could that involve speaking to other managers or even Arsene Wenger? “I will think about it and do what I feel is best.”

What is certain for Arsenal and Arteta is that Saka will be central to his plans. The winger has come back to the side after four months out through a hamstring injury and has hit the ground running.

"We cannot think in those terms," he replied when asked if wrapping his players up to protect them had come into his mind this week.

"I think when the players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play. And they are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances and physically, they are good. Emotionally, they are good.

"Their understanding and their rhythm and then the way they make decisions is at their best, and that's what we need. If they are not available, there's no discussion, and they are not in good condition to perform, we're not going to play them. But if they are, we are going to play them."

He has been regularly targetted by opposition players due to his quality and danger.

Arteta has spoken out about this many times before . “I don’t know," he responded. "The ref made a really quick call. It was really far from me to see but he looked really decisive and after looking at it, it was the right decision."

It hasn't been an easy matter for Saka to get to grips with, either. He was booed and jeered by the Ipswich fans after his role in the sending off. His reaction, to smile it off, is something Arteta is proud of.

"Very difficult to work on that! We cannot really replicate it. He needs to stay focused and present in the moment and make sure the noise doesn't affect his game, the decision making especially. It is tricky sometimes but I think he handled it really well because the worst thing you can do is start reacting to that or paying attention to that and he needs to stay focused, that’s it."

How has Saka overcome this when others his age (and even older) might not? “That’s in his nature. That is something we can’t coach or take credit for. That’s him. He is really calm, very rational, very intelligent in the way he manages his emotions so that’s down to him."

Whether Saka is involved against Palace or not, Arteta is seeking to find a way for him and the Arsenal squad to enter PSG in the best shape possible. No matter what happens, Saka will attack it with all he has.