Category Archives: Saka

by | March 8, 2020 · 2:08 pm

“…king of assists is back” – Some Arsenal fans react to Mesut Ozil and Saka’s performance against Hammers

It was a tough London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the Gunners battled West Ham United to the very end of the match. Mikel Arteta’s men weren’t very lively in the opening minutes of the encounter as they almost concede a quick goal in the opening two minutes of the game.

West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen struck the woodwork in the early stages before Michail Antonio also wasted a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock.

However, the home side grew into the game and they piled much pressure on their visitors but it remained goalless throughout the first 45 minutes of the game.

The second half saw a better display from Arsenal who needed maximum points to boost their Champions League’s qualifying hopes for the next season.

Nketiah, Sokratis and Granit Xhaka all have their chances to put the Gunners ahead but the ball couldn’t find its way into Fabianski’s net.

The Hammers also have some chances of their own at the other end of the pitch and one of them was Antonio’s well-struck header that was saved by Bernd Leno’s mighty hands.

After 78 minutes of actions and some controversies, the host eventually broke the deadlock via second-half substitute Alexandre Lacazette who replaced Eddie Nketiah.

The Frenchman converted from close range after a lovely pass from Mesut Ozil. The goal was initially ruled out for offside by the match officials, but the decision was turned down by VAR after a lengthy check.

With the result, Arsenal now occupy the 9th position on the League table with 40 points. They are five points behind fourth-place Chelsea who play host to Everton at the Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and they have a game at hand.

At full-time, some Arsenal fans took to social media networking site Twitter to express delight with Ozil and Saka’s performance against Hammers. While there are some who believed Saka is very good, others cannot stop admitting the Premier League’s “king of assists” is back.

Below are some of the best selected tweets:

https://twitter.com/LacaSweat/status/1236323335115624450?s=20

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Filed under Arsenal, Arteta, Fans, General Musings, gooner news, Match Day Postmortem, Premier League, Saka

by | March 2, 2020 · 10:55 am

Alex Iwobi Or Tammy Abraham: In whose footstep should Arsenal young sensation follow?

Arsenal’s newfound assist king Bukayo Saka is enjoying life at the Emirates Stadium having laid strong hold on a regular spot in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up this season.

Despite being deployed as a makeshift left-back by Arteta, the 18-year-old has been phenomenal at the final half of the pitch.

He already has 10 assists to his name, and he is obviously not going to stop at that as there are still 11 Premier League matches before the season ends. Carabao Cup and FA Cup also offer him more chances to add to his tally before the end of the season.

As much as Saka’s current blistering form has given him the chance to be an important figure at the Emirates Stadium, the player now finds himself in the middle of an intense international tug-of-war between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Three Lions of England.

Born to Nigerian parents, the 18-year-old is eligible to represent the three-time African champions, and he has the equal chance of featuring for Gareth Southgate’s side.

Though it is speculated that the Nigerian FA are ready to convince the youngster over playing for his father’s land, the European powerhouse are reportedly leading the race for his services.

Read also: Mesut Ozil to remain at Arsenal despite 2020-21 UCL uncertainty

Having played for England’s U16, U17, U18 and U19, progressing to the Three Lions squad won’t require much stress or change of playing pattern.

However, he will certainly need to overcome intense competitions from highly experienced players if he must get regular playing-time for the Three Lions.

Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell, Tottenham-owned Newcastle star Danny Rose and Manchester United’s Luke Shaw are all ahead of him in the pecking order of left-backs or left wing-backs available for selection.

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and United’s Jesse Lingard are also competing for a place at both flanks. Hence, choosing England over Nigeria means the player must develop his game in order for him to break into this formidable team.

Unlike playing for England, Saka will need to submit a change of allegiance document to FIFA before he could feature for the West African country.

He will equally need to get familiar with the country’s playing patterns— although, it’s not too different from Southgate’s tactical approach.

Nonetheless, he has better chances of breaking into Genort Rohr’s starting line-up judging by his work-rate and beautiful deliveries into opponent’s box.

Torino’s Ola Aina and Paderborn’s Jamilu, who are Rohr’s regular fullbacks, are not in good form for their respective clubs. This means Saka have a brighter opportunity of becoming the gaffer’s most trusted fullback in no time.

Having said that, it remains unknown if the youngster will follow Alex Iwobi’s footstep, who dumped England in favor of the African side, or he will imitate Tammy Abraham’s decision by ignoring Nigeria’s approach.

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Filed under Arsenal, General Musings, gooner news, Opinions, Saka, Transfer Bollocks

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by | February 24, 2020 · 3:25 pm

EPL top-four race: Two players who can help Arsenal in a 10-club race

The race for the Premier League top-four finish is getting heater, harder and hotter as the season progresses, and no fewer than ten clubs still stand a chance of claiming a spot.

Barring a disastrous loss of form, it’s a forgone conclusion that Liverpool already have their place in next season’s Champions League competition as they will certainly finish among top three clubs.

The same can’t be said about Manchester City and Leicester City who currently occupy the second and third position respectively.

Both sides have been inconsistent in their performances all through the campaign. Nonetheless, they still have strong chances of finishing among the top four clubs.

The fight for the fourth position — which is the last Champions League qualifying spot — is set to go down the wire. With the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield United and Burnley all vying for a chance to claim the last spot.

Though Chelsea currently occupy the fourth position with 44 points, they are far from being untouchable judging by Manchester United and Arsenal’s present form.

The Red Devils have kept two clean sheets in their last two matches (against Chelsea and Watford), picking maximum points in the process. Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s and his cohorts will definitely want to maintain the tempo throughout the rest of the campaign.

Arsenal on the hand, have recorded six points in their last two games against Newcastle United and Everton. Although, they didn’t keep any clean sheet.

The North London club are currently sitting in eighth position with 37 points at the time of this article but you can’t rule them out of Champions League race due to their recent resurgence under new boss Mikel Arteta.

For the first time as Arsenal manager, the Spanish gaffer led the Gunners to a back-to-back victories on Sunday, and the North London club are growing in strong confidence as you could see in the performance against the Toffees on Sunday.

As much as all the players seem to have up their game in recent week, gooner news have come up with the name of two players who can help the team achieve their prime target for the campaign.

1. Bukayo Saka

The English youngster is fast becoming an assist king at the Emirates stadium, having provided 10 assists in all competitions.

Despite featuring in an unfamiliar left-back position, the 18-year-old has been an influential player for Mikel Arteta’s side.

His teammates, especially strikers, will definitely rely on his pin-point crosses to score more goals if they must beat Chelsea and other rivals to the last Champions League spot.

2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

The Gabonese centre-forward is obviously the most in-form Arsenal player so far this season, having scored 16 goals in 27 matches.

He scored a brace in a keenly contested fixture against Everton on Sunday, and his goals and work ethic will be hugely needed by the Gunners for the rest of the season.

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Filed under Arsenal, Arteta, Aubameyang, gooner news, Monday Night Preview, Premier League, Saka, UEFA Champions League