Making his comment on the return of winger, Bukayo Saka, to action for Arsenal, manager Mikel Arteta said, it was a “beautiful moment to see how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo.”
English winger, Bukayo Saka, made his way back to action for the Gunners on Tuesday night in the top flight encounter against Fulham after 101 days out injured.
Saka netted the winner for the hosts, his 10th goal of the campaign, to hand Arsenal a well-deserved 2-1 triumph over the Cottagers at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday 1 April, 2025.
Gabriel Martinelli who assisted Saka’s goal was awarded Player Of The Match following his beautiful performance for the home side.
The Spanish boss also commented on the latest injury in the team, saying, “we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week.”
According to arsenal.com, In his post-victory comments, Arteta said:
On Saka’s Return:
“I think it’s a beautiful moment to see how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo. He’s not a surprise to any of us and I think the best example is his reaction. Immediately after scoring a goal, what does he do? He goes and says thank you for all the hard work that all the sports science guys, physios and everybody involved in the recovery have done for him to be in the condition that he is. I think he lifted the stadium, the energy and it’s great to have him back.”
On Saka’s Emotions At Full-Time:
“He was very positive. I think the first [game] is always the one, how am I going to feel? Because now I have a different opposition in front of me, different demands and pressure. He dealt with it really well and the downside to that is Gabi and Jurrien, we don’t know how they’re going to be. We’ll be assessing them tomorrow and understand better how we are with those two.”
On The Early Impressions Of Gabriel’s Injury:
“They are two players in this team that never want to come off. Gabi felt something in his hamstring, we don’t know how big that is and with Jurrien as well, he was already struggling very early in the game. He managed to continue and at some point he couldn’t, so, that’s the downside to it.”
On The Defensive Injury Problems:
“You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week – Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi Magalhaes. We have still another four, that are so willing that they will do their job.”
On Mikel Merino’s Impressive Scoring Return:
“It’s good he has that capacity to score goals, to sense the danger and to move in the right moments into the right spaces. Today was a different goal but then you ask him to play as a nine and he does it perfectly and understands the timing, the position, the role. So good. It’s a joy to have players like this. I thought Ethan had some really good moments. Martinelli was superb as well. You see how much we missed him, that threat, that attacking purpose that he has every time he’s on the ball. Some good performances.”
HC: Ethan Nwaneri is another lethal Arsenal player!
Gabriel Martinelli emerged POTM after his amazing performance for Arsenal against Fulham:
Watch: Fans roar as Bukayo Saka makes his return to action for Arsenal against Fulham
