Arsenal (Special): Bukayo Saka is making key difference week after week: He is keeping Arsenal at the top of Premier League.
Srećko Šijaković 
Arsenal’s open-play football has become one-dimensional over the past few weeks. In their last five matches, Arsenal have failed to score before the 70th minute despite constant attacking. The team’s inefficiency and Mikel Arteta’s repeated need to introduce his strongest attacking options from the bench to secure three points or progress have become a daily occurrence for Arsenal in December.
Recent Arsenal results- The past weeks
Arsenal create chances and dominate possession, but their attacks are not effective enough. They have been lacking conversion chances for weeks now. Arsenal is the only team to struggle against Wolverhampton in more than a month and a half.
They beat Brentford, which is not a difficult task for a team of Arsenal’s quality, lost to Aston Villa, and had a comfortable Champions League tie against Club Brugge in Belgium.
They have overcome Everton in 90 minutes with great difficulty, and last night, after a draw in 90 minutes, eliminated Crystal Palace on penalties to proceed in the EFL Cup semi-finals. They have thrown out Christal Place, a team that is declining on all fronts.
Arteta is forced to include players from the bench, with the biggest impact of Martin Odegaard, a great Arsenal playmaker. When he is on the pitch, Arsenal finds the solutions.
It has become routine to see Arteta bringing on players such as the recently injured Martin Ødegaard, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, and Mikel Merino from the bench. But Arsenal now has a true offensive leader beside the great leadership of Declan Rice; he is now ready, fit, and he plays for Arsenal. It is Bukayo Saka.
Gyökeres is not showing a high level, and Arsenal is not efficient at weaks.
It is clear that Arsenal have major problems with chance conversion, and that Viktor Gyökeres has been a significant disappointment for the London club. The striker, who played in the Portuguese league last season, does not look convincing at all in the Premier League. His integration into the team was not managed carefully to avoid a new injury; instead, he has been constantly pushed into action by Mikel Arteta. That results in poor play from Gyokeres in this phase of the season.
He has returned shortly after an injury, so there is a certain logic behind his poor performances and Arsenal’s struggles
The pressure for results is high at Arsenal, forcing Arteta to continuously rely on his best players. On the other hand, when he starts without them, he is quickly forced to bring them on.
As a result, during December, Arsenal’s key players had little time to rest—except for Madueke, who is far from consistent. Declan Rice hardly rested a match due to the constant need for his presence on the pitch for Arsenal.
In these attacking problems, Arsenal are often rescued by their general level of play when Ødegaard is on the pitch; he creates the best for the team and plays defensively great. The team is playing the best offensively when Odegaard is on the pitch.
The most important contribution at Arsenal comes from Bukayo Saka. From the right flank, his precise crosses decide matches and break opponents’ resistance.
Saka entered from the bench in the EFL Cup and, after sustained pressure from Arsenal, delivered the decisive cross that broke the opposition’s defence, assisting the own goal for Arsenal.
Since returning from injury, Arsenal’s right winger has been a key player in Arteta’s system. Excellent in one-on-one situations and in creating overloads on the right side, his crosses are something opponents have been unable to stop.
His quick reactions and execution on the opposite side are making him a dangerous weapon in Mikel Arteta’s system and Arsenal’s game plan. His fresh dribbles and legs and his entries in the box are making a huge difference for Arsenal in the offensive aspects of play.
His high-tempo corner deliveries from the left side have become a trademark, and the balls he sends in hard off the opponents’ box have been fatal for opposing defenders who have failed to deal with them.
Saka has been Arsenal’s standout player in December, and the main reason why Arsenal remained at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal do not score goals easily at the moment, but they continue to win. Like yesterday, many efforts of Arsenal players to score were stopped, but Saka’s crosses at key moments have unlocked the opponents’ defences, and the hard work of the opponents’ hard Premier League defenders was smashed by Arsenal’s winger.
Saka and Mikel Arteta’s bond and chemistry
The chemistry between Saka and Arteta is evident, and with better contributions from the striker position, Saka could become an attacking weapon that is extremely difficult to contain. He is now a true Arsenal hero and the favourite player among many Arsenal fans. He is a very young player and can develop even more great football for Arsenal in the years to follow.
He can be a true Arsenal leader and has a manager who has believed in him since he was in Arsenal’s youth categories. Arteta knows his qualities and has helped Saka to promote his self as a first-team player in the past. He spotted his great talent and made his great run in Arsenal possible.
Gabriel Jesus has returned to action, Kai Havertz is still expected back, and Jesus could develop a strong partnership with Bukayo Saka, and Arsenal can find hew offensive bond and partnership that can produce so many-needed goals in this Premier League season.
Arsenal desperately needs now offensive contributions and player partnerships that are unlocking the opponents’ defensive ways with patience and quality, and positioning. That playing aspect is lacking at Arsenal since the team is relying on set pieces and on granite defending, and the poor form of Gyokeres we talked about.
The potential partnership of Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka can overturn everything at Arsenal. Since we are talking about the players who are world-class and can play for many years together.
Bukayo Saka is already an extremely important England international who played the final of the EURO 2024 in France for England.
In this new England National Team that is being led greatly by Thomas Tuchel, Saka can play a very important role and was playing in the qualifiers.
The Thomas Tuchel English National Team and leadership model is a much greater and higher quality than the former project of Gareth Southgate in England’s national team. So Saka will have his chance to be a regular starting eleven in the World Cup of 2026.
In that context, Arteta’s decision to use Mikel Merino as a striker currently appears to be less than an ideal solution. But he is another option in the striker position for Arsenal.
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