Saka shows why Arsenal need him for Premier League, Champions League push

LONDON — The “Starboy” is back on center stage. Arsenal have needed a spark to revitalize their attack as the pressure of turning points into prizes grows exponentially, and Bukayo Saka was there to answer the call against Fulham on Saturday.

Saka’s scintillating link-up with Viktor Gyökeres was at the heart of a 3-0 win that broke the mold of recent weeks, arguably months in home fixtures. Gone was the perpetual existential angst and the accompanying caution, replaced instead by pace, purpose and precision.

Fulham, who arrived at Emirates Stadium chasing their highest-ever Premier League finish, simply had no answer to Arsenal’s renewed dynamism. Manager Marco Silva confirmed post-match that the squad had been battling a virus all week, which could explain their inability to keep up with a renewed Gunners attack.

It could have been another nervous 90 minutes for manager Mikel Arteta & Co, but Saka got the job done in half the time. On his first start since the Carabao Cup Final due to a persistent Achilles issue, the 24-year-old followed a brilliant assist for Gyokeres’ ninth-minute opener — dumping Raúl Jiménez on the turf with a change of pace — with a superb 40th-minute strike of his own, arrowed inside Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno‘s near post and by the time Gyokeres headed in a third in first-half stoppage time, Mikel Arteta had seen enough.

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Goal difference may become a factor in the title race — they now boast a six-point and four-goal advantage over City, who have two games in hand — but more immediate in view is Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal, second leg against Atletico Madrid. As a result, Saka was replaced at the interval by Noni Madueke.

It is no exaggeration to say that that opening half was right up there with Arsenal’s best football of the season.

“It certainly was one of the best, and there was a certain connection in the team that I had a feeling that it was going to provoke that,” said Mikel Arteta after the match. “We had some fresh legs from a few players, you could notice that big time, because the individual performance increased, and then the team flowed in a different way.”

Maybe they do hate April after all — a month in which their win percentage habitually dips — and on the second day of May, they scored three goals in a single game for the first time since February. Only Bournemouth against Chelsea in December (2.77) and Manchester City against Leeds in November (2.67) registered a higher non-penalty expected goals figure in the first half of a Premier League game than Arsenal’s 2.39 here. Their pass accuracy into the final third (87%) was Arsenal’s best in a first half this season, their 70% pass completion of long passes their second best (per ESPN Global Soccer Research).

A total of 30 progressive passes was only slightly above their average, but the combination felt to the naked eye as though the Gunners had rediscovered their fluidity in a manner of the team they’ve been battling to become all season.

ESPN has reported previously that Arsenal’s aim with Gyokeres in the side was to transition their style to become more direct, but a combination of injury, indifferent form and perhaps a belief that their old approach could still work has led to stodgy displays and an over-reliance on set-pieces combined with defensive resilience. Saturday was not far short of a complete transformation, and it is no surprise, therefore, that Gyokeres suddenly came to life.

The Sweden forward was denied a hat trick when sent through by Leandro Trossard shortly before the double change that saw Gyokeres and Declan Rice withdrawn, again with Tuesday in mind. From there, the second half was a stroll. Rather than watch every action in fear, Arsenal supporters could rattle through their repertoire in comfort, soundtracking a serene Saturday night.

Arsenal’s record in these specific matches hasn’t been great. Only once had they won a league game sandwiched between a Champions League knockout tie spread across a seven or eight-day period, and that was March’s 2-0 win over Everton when they needed goals in the 89th and 90th minutes.

So Arteta made bold calls, the likes of which a manager lives and dies by, and they paid off. Myles Lewis-Skelly excelled in central midfield, starting there for the first time in this campaign. He was key not just to winning the midfield battle, but also in quickly distributing the ball to get Arsenal playing.

There were five changes in total — the most Arsenal have made in a league game all season — and the decision to prioritize energy over continuity was thoroughly rewarded. Perhaps the only slight regret was not improving their goal difference further in the second period. Calafiori somehow failed to score when his late header hit Leno on the head and struck the crossbar.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are under maximum pressure. Arsenal still have a job to do at home and abroad, but with Saka back and playing like this, hope springs eternal.

According to ESPN Global Soccer Research, Arsenal register a higher xG, more progressive passes, more successful dribbled and create almost three more chances a game in the league with Saka than without him. His form has dipped in a season affected by injury, but ultimately Arsenal remain reliant on him: their win percentage jumps from 50% to 74% when he starts.

“[Saka] certainly made a difference,” Arteta said. “He made two actions that decided the game and we know what he’s capable of.

“He’s come back in the most important period of the season, and now he’s fresh, his mind is fresh, his hunger is at the highest possible height, and I think he needed a performance like that to impact the team, so that’s a big platform for Tuesday.

In a season coming down to the finest of margins, it could make the difference. On days like this, it feels like it might as for once, the Gunners looked like a team ready to burst through the finish line rather than limp toward it.