Bukayo Saka’s timely return to form vital for Arsenal’s run in
Bukayo Saka has enjoyed a timely return to form and fitness with Arsenal a handful of matches away from their greatest-ever season.
As Arsenal celebrated reaching their first Champions League final for 20 years, and only their second in club history, Bukayo Saka was pushed to the front by his teammates to take the adulation. After all, he was the one who scored the winner against Atlético Madrid. The one who booked the Gunners’ place in the Budapest showpiece.
More than this, Saka provided Arsenal with the forward thrust to get past a stubborn opponent. In a tight match that didn’t generate a huge number of clear opportunities, the 24-year-old was the Gunners’ most consistent attacking threat, isolating Matteo Ruggeri as often as possible down the right side.
Saka’s winner came from following in a Leandro Trossard shot that was initially saved by Jan Oblak, pouncing quickly after anticipating the spill in the six-yard box. It demonstrated Saka’s finishing instincts as a poacher. Out wide, though, he is such an important component of Arsenal’s entire approach as a team.
Mikel Arteta wants control. His ethos as a coach is about commanding as many variables as possible and Arsenal certainly succeed in doing this against Atlético. It never felt truly likely that Diego Simeone’s side would find the back of the net against a home team that set a number of pressing traps all over the pitch.
Within that control, though, there is an important role for Saka as a difference-maker. The way Arsenal cluster possession sequences down the left is designed to open up space for Saka to exploit on the right through his speed and dribbling ability. He gives the Gunners a different dimension.
Arsenal have missed Saka. Not just when the 24-year-old has been sidelined through injury, but in matches Saka has struggled to find his best football. As the Gunners’ 2025/26 campaign started to slip through their fingers over the first few months of the year, Saka was a shadow of his useful self.
This was evident in Saka’s raw numbers. Last season, the winger registered 16 goal contributions for Arsenal in the Premier League. Before his recent goal and assist against Fulham, he had just nine goal contributions for the current campaign. Saka was struggling to impact matches in the same way.
In Saka’s last two outings, though, the explosiveness has been back in his play. Fulham stood no chance of stopping the England international who twisted Raúl Jiménez into a pretzel by skinning the Mexican to set up Viktor Gyökeres. His near-post finish to make it 2-0 was the sign of a player operating with confidence again.
“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,” said Arteta after Saka’s eye-catching display against Fulham. The Spaniard is surely relieved one of his best players is thriving once more.
Thomas Tuchel is almost certainly delighted to see Saka look like Saka again. The 24-year-old will be a key figure for England at this summer’s World Cup with Tuchel, like Arteta at club level, reliant on Saka as a source of verticality and direct threat on the right wing.
While there is a place in Tuchel’s lineup to be earned on the left side of the forward line, Saka has been England’s first-choice on the right wing for a number of years. It’s crucial for Three Lions that he is in peak condition otherwise England might fall short like they did at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Victory over Atlético Madrid put Arsenal into their first Champions League final since the Arsene Wenger era with the Gunners now just three more wins away from becoming Premier League champions. Domestic and European glory would make this the most successful season in the North London club’s history.
Saka can’t do it all on his own down the stretch. Gyökeres’ performance against Atlético on Tuesday was his best to date in an Arsenal shirt with the Swedish striker now on 21 goals for the season. He has proved his critics wrong and will have a significant role to play before the end of May.
Declan Rice remains one of the best central midfielders in the world while Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba’s centre back partnership is the foundation upon which Arteta has built his entire team. From back to front, Arsenal have the quality to compete against any opponent at the elite level.
In Saka, though, the ultimate success or failure of their season could be determined. The Premier League and Champions League trophies could be on his boot, particularly his left boot which can do so much damage in and around the penalty area. Arsenal need him to keep up his resurgent form.
(Images from IMAGO)
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