Former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant has warned his old side about overplaying Bukayo Saka. The 22-year-old featured in 87 consecutive Premier League matches, a club record, before eventually missing October’s 1-0 win over Manchester City.

But since then, Saka has played through several different knocks, something that Pennant is clearly worried about, comparing the youngster’s fitness problems to ex-Liverpool star Fernando Torres. Speaking to King Casino Bonus, Pennant said: "Saka is still young and he's a strongly-built lad, but playing through the pain barrier won't do him any justice.

"You should always play at 100% as much as possible if you want a long career, and the pain barrier could make the issue worse down the line. Saka needs to be rested a little bit more and be at 100% when he plays.

"[Mikel] Arteta has made Saka played 90 minutes, but there needs to be management of his minutes. I think he should be rested if Arsenal are winning comfortably and the game is ending.

"Torres was so strongly-built it was difficult to gauge if he was injured or not. He picked up some hamstring injuries at the end, and that cost him some sharpness.

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"Taking injections and playing through pain can catch up with you at the end of the season. Torres wasn't the same at Chelsea, and looked like his twin!

"It shows that if you play through pain, it'll only come back to haunt you." Saka started for England last night as The Three Lions drew 1-1 with North Macedonia.