Tag: Bukayo Saka

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    Premier League – Matchday 12: Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest

    Arsenal, fresh off the international break, got back to winning ways with a solid 3-0 victory at the Emirates over Nottingham Forest. The squad looked refreshed, recharged and refocused, especially Bukayo Saka – who scored 1 goal and assisted Thomas Partey on another. Saka’s goal was simply outstanding. It came about after Martin Ødegaard’s shot was blocked, but kept in…

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    Premier League – Matchday 7: Arsenal vs. Southampton

    Playing a relegation-embroiled team like Southampton gave manager Mikel Arteta a chance to rotate his side in a few key positions. Raheem Sterling came in for Gabriel Martinelli at left-winger. Leandro Trossard was dropped to the bench, with Gabriel Jesus coming in for him. This forced Kai Havertz, who’s been excellent at striker, to drop back into the midfield as…

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    Champions League – Matchday 2: Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain

    Arsenal put in a professional display, winning 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium over Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners scored two 1st half goals (Kai Havertz – 20′ and Bukayo Saka – 35′) and then defended deep for most of the 2nd half, extinguishing PSG attack after attack. Mikel Arteta’s gameplan worked to perfection. The Gunners started brightly and were in the…

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    Premier League – Matchday 6: Arsenal vs. Leicester City

    Football is a funny old game. If you simply looked at the score line you’d think Arsenal battered Leicester City and weren’t under any stress or pressure. You would only be half right. In the first half, it felt like the Gunners had 80% possession. Totally dominate, controlling the tempo and playing mostly at the edge of the Leicester City…

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    Carabao Cup – Round 3: Arsenal vs. Bolton

    Mikel Arteta rotated his side heavily in their 5-1 home rout over Bolton Wanderers to advance to the 4th round of the Carabao Cup, where they will face Preston North End. He started 2 teenage full-backs in Myles Lewis-Skelly (18) and Josh Nichols (18) with Jakub Kiwior handed a rare start at right center-back. He also included midfielder Ethan Nwaneri…

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    Champions League Matchday 1: Arsenal at Atalanta

    Arsenal begin their Champions League campaign with a 0-0 draw against Atalanta in Bergamo, Italy. The London-based side were their normally solid self in defense with David Raya making a world-class double save when he stopped striker Mateo Retegui’s penalty and subsequent rebound header. It saved the point for the Gunners, who were incredibly flat going forward. They had very…

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    Matchday 4: Arsenal at Tottenham

    Even with a significantly diminished side Arsenal were still able to go into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and beat their London rival, 1-0. This was the Gunners third consecutive away victory in the North London derby, something they had never done in the Premier League era. For most of the match Mikel Arteta’s men had to defend wave after wave after…

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    Matchday 3: Arsenal vs. Brighton

    Well, it was bound to happen, maybe just not so dramatically. Arsenal drop points after drawing 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium. There is only one place to start, Declan Rice’s 2nd yellow, leading to his dismissal, in minute 47. It began right before halftime when Declan Rice took a heavy touch in midfield, lost the…

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    Matchday 2: Arsenal at Aston Villa

    This one was personal, even if Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said otherwise. In the run up to the match, comparisons between Arteta and the Aston Villa boss, and former Gunners manager, Unai Emery were rampart, especially after Villa pulled off the double against Arsenal last season. The discourse around the two Spanish managers has gotten extremely toxic, with most of…

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    Matchday 1: Arsenal vs. Wolves

    Arsenal won their season opener 2-0 over Wolverhampton Wanderers. This was not the prettiest match Mikel Arteta’s men have ever played but that’s expected as it is the first game of the season. The players are still working themselves into game shape and Arteta is still refining his tactics. For the game, it was an uneven performance by the Gunners.…