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Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video
10. 7. 3. Games. Assists. Goals. 2024-25.
You probably don’t need me to tell you who those numbers refer to, but just in case, it’s Bukayo Saka this season. I want to start with him today because I think he deserves it. It’s not that I think we take what he does for granted, but his excellence has become so commonplace there’s a danger we don’t take the time to appreciate just what an end product machine he is.
He’s averaging a goal contribution every game so far this season, and yesterday – despite the fact changes from the bench sparked Arsenal into a different gear against Southampton – Saka was the constant. 7 shots, 7 key passes, 11 crosses. He was relentless against a side that we needed to break down. At half-time I thought this was the game that we missed Martin Odegaard the most since his injury, by full-time I wanted Arsenal to commission Bob Statue to get Bukayo cast in bronze alongside the greats that already surround the stadium.
I’ll come back to him, but let’s go back to the first half. Mikel Arteta decided to start Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, leaving Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the bench. I understood this. It’s a home game against a struggling side, and what better opportunity to get some competitive minutes into the legs of two players who need it. People complain all the time he doesn’t rotate enough, and when you have players of that experience and quality to call on, I don’t really see an issue.
Unfortunately, neither of them really had the kind of impact we’d have liked. There were moments, flashes of what they can do and – let’s be kind – but for some fantastic last ditch defending from Southampton they might have found the net. Arsenal dominated the first half, but did so without the cutting edge we needed to find a way through. It wasn’t just down to those two, the visitors defended for their lives, but there was just…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/10/arsenal-3-1-southampton-brilliant-bukayo-runs-the-show/
Author : arseblog
Publish date : 2024-10-06 06:48:51
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