£106m-rated “monster” was “electric” vs Sporting CP
Arsenal are set to return to the Emirates Stadium next week in the Europa League round of 16 second leg against Sporting CP with a 2-2 draw for a place in the quarters.
Both teams delivered an entertaining four-goal thriller in Lisbon on Thursday night, with both the Gunners and Lions trading headers from a corner in the first half before Granit Xhaka’s deflected shot saved a point after Paulinho’s ten minutes later hosts had put in the lead break.
Mikel Arteta’s side couldn’t maintain their dominance over the last 28 minutes despite having more possession (68%) and more shots in total (14).
Does Bukayo Saka need to be rested?
It could have been a different story had Gabriel Martinelli scored with his sensational, labyrinthine solo run.
After picking up the ball near his own penalty area, the Brazilian winger danced past three players and then went around the goalkeeper, but Jeremiah St Juste’s sheer speed thwarted him before the shot went wide gate could fire.
Incredible run from Martinelli! 💥
But this tackle by Jeremiah St. Juste 😮💨#UEL pic.twitter.com/FWuGyx5WRw
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 9, 2023
His performance certainly deserved much more as he was largely starved, while for Bukayo Saka his effort should have been rewarded with victory in Portugal…
How did Bukayo Saka fare against Sporting CP?
In the words of analyst Statman Dave, the England international was “electric‘ at the Estadio Jose Alvalade after receiving the highest SofaScore rating for the visitors (7.8).
Saka managed eight of his nine dribbles, which proved to be an absolute nightmare for his opponent, who posted the fourth-worst score for the home team (6.4).
The Hale-end sensation was at the forefront of every Arsenal attack, managing an 87% passing accuracy, 69 touches and two successful long balls, and he did it without forgetting his defensive duties, with a total of three tackles – just by surpassed another player on the pitch – and he won 12 of his 15 duels (80%), via Sofascore.
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Saka, valued at £106million by the CIES Football Observatory, was said to have “caused Sporting all sorts of problems with his pace and his tricks” after the game, according to journalist Chris Wheatley.
Such a performance was certainly warranted more than a tie, especially considering it could easily have been a game where Arteta could rest his star. Therefore, a win would only have been dessert for taking such a big risk that the north London giants would have been fighting for their first Premier League title in almost a decade.
Arsenal’s “Monster‘ – as once praised by writer Mark White – was obviously one of the top performers in that encounter, it’s just a shame his efforts weren’t rewarded with more.
AND in other news, Arteta could dig Arsenal’s next Ashley Cole in the ‘versatile’ Hale end sensation…