At a Glance:
- Bukayo Saka’s return has overseen a significant improvement in Arsenal’s results
- His performances against Fulham and Atletico were perfect displays of how essential he is to the team
- Thierry Henry has been particularly impressed by one factor
For Bukayo Saka, making his return at a do-or-die moment in Arsenal’s season will not have done anything to calm his nerves.
Injured following Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City, Saka made his official comeback after a month in an off-the-bench cameo versus Newcastle in late April.
The 24-year-old would then make his full return in a start against Fulham, scoring and assisting within only 45 minutes before being substituted off.
Arsenal’s last game, the Champions League semi-final second leg, where they faced Atletico, would see Saka score the deciding goal that sent Arsenal through to their first final in twenty years—and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry made sure to highlight one impressive factor about Saka.
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Arsenal’s unbeaten run since Bukayo Saka’s return shows he is the Gunners’ key man
While 31 combined minutes against Newcastle and the first leg against Atletico only produced 6.4 and 6.6 player ratings for Bukayo Saka as per Sofascore, his two performances after have had fans raving, given that he was vital in both victories.
Against Fulham, Saka was an essential part of why Arsenal ran away with the game in the first half and cruised to a 3-0 victory, with the Gunners’ number 7 setting up Viktor Gyokeres’ opener and scoring himself, while also having four key passes, two big chances created, and completing 18/21 passes in the opposition half for an accuracy rate of 86%.
That performance delivered him a 9.5 match rating, and while the next game Saka played in versus Atletico was a bit quieter, he was the reason that his Arsenal side left the Emirates on that night, having booked their tickets to the final in Budapest.
He scored the only goal of the game just before half-time, while also having 89% pass completion within the 58 minutes he played.
| Competition | Games | Goals (Assists) |
| Premier League | 29 | 7 (4) |
| Champions League | 10 | 3 (2) |
| FA Cup | 2 | 0 (0) |
| EFL Cup | 5 | 1 (0) |
Thierry Henry says Bukayo Saka’s ‘do or die’ mentality is what’s makes him so important
Speaking after Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Atletico on Tuesday, Thierry Henry revealed just how impressive he thought Saka’s comeback had been, revealing a conversation that the two had had, as well.
“Bukayo [Saka’s] been questioned all season. Can he be the guy? Is he not the guy? Is he the starboy? Is he not the starboy? Is he better than him or not better than him? Today he had to play with barely [any] training. I know he’s suffering with his Achilles tendon [issues].”
“He came back, I spoke to him and he came back and was like: “I’ve got to be on the pitch. I’ve got to be on the pitch against Fulham. I have to be. It’s do or die”.
“So you have to give those guys a lot of credit. Sometimes we take it for granted. We all played through injuries. We all played with moments where you’re not 100 per cent and he had to do it, deliver it for Arsenal.”
