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 something missing from our attack.
We saw what it was in the second half when Martinelli and Trossard came on. Being fair, game-state might have played a part. Their fresh legs against some weary Southampton ones could have given them an advantage, but the difference went beyond that. Martinelli in particular seemed to do things with more zip. His movement was quicker, he was sharper on the ball, while Trossard just got into more dangerous positions – and an understated aspect of the changes is just how naturally he and Kai Havertz seem to connect.
Southampton’s goal came when Sterling was robbed in midfield, they got it forward to Cameron Archer who stepped outside William Saliba a bit too easily to finish into the far corner. Very much against the run of play, we’d had 15 shots by that point, but as we saw last weekend, you don’t have to do much wrong to concede in this league.
Thankfully the response was almost immediate. Saka was first to a heavy touch in midfield, playing it first time to Havertz who drove on and finished with the conviction of a man who has now scored in 7 consecutive home games. He was outstanding again yesterday, the goal his major contribution, but a moment in injury time summed him up for me. He battled and scrapped for a ball midway into the Southampton half, winning possession. This was the 94th minute, the game was won, but his workrate was exemplary.
The changes I mentioned came just after that goal, and with Mikel Merino on for Jorginho, the dynamic of our performance shifted too. It didn’t feel like if we would score again, but when. The second came when Saka’s brilliantly flighted ball to the back post was tucked away by Martinelli whose run was perfectly timed. The finish from close range gave Aaron Ramsdale no chance, there was a lengthy VAR check for offside, but he was on, and we were ahead.
I saw the Brazilian talk afterwards about how that move was something they work on in training, and that combination is one with so much promise. After a difficult period in front of goal, it’s a couple of goals and an assist for Martinelli in our last two Premier League games, so hopefully he is confident and ready to go again after the Interlull.
There’s no doubt Saka deserved a goal himself, even if it was slightly fortuitous. Havertz was involved at the start, sticking out a long leg while he was on the ground to play it forward to Trossard. With Martinelli outside him, you’d have expected the Belgian to just play him in, but he seemed caught in two minds, and the ball got away from him. Unfortunately for Southampton the same applied to their defender who knocked the ball into the path of Saka who finished first time with his right foot for his 49th Arsenal goal.
On a day when Arsenal needed someone to step up – and he wasn’t alone by any means – Saka stood out. I thought Havertz was incredible again, I’ve already mentioned the impact of the subs, but Saka wore Southampton down with his tireless excellence. Afterwards, Arteta said of him:
He has the capacity to change games, to decide games. If you want to be at the top, sometimes players have to create those moments and he’s certainly done that today.
And on the game in general, he said:
The team reacted incredibly well with a lot of composure; big belief, very good clarity in what we had to do. The crowd were exceptional, the subs were exceptional and we managed to win again.
I suspect over the course of this Interlull, Arteta and his coaching staff will reflect on a couple of games where our dominance didn’t result in quite enough end product. Which seems a bit of an odd thing to say when we’ve scored 7 goals in our last two league fixtures, but I think he’d prefer things to be a little more comfortable. As we’ve seen though, this side has a resilience and desire to win that produces the reactions we’ve seen against Leicester and Southampton, but perhaps it shouldn’t need to be tested every week!
It’s a small complaint though. We remain unbeaten, the league table looks very healthy, and even when we have to play a game without a natural right back because our two brilliant ones are injured, we don’t feel too impeded by those absences. The ability to reshape and cope without key players is a very encouraging, and it augurs well because it’s something every team has to deal with over the course of a season. We’ve had plenty in the opening seven games, hopefully it settles down a bit when we get going after the break.
Stand by for an early Arsecast Extra this morning. We’ve put out the call for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
