Mikel Arteta is not surprised that Bukayo Saka has taken the Champions League by storm.
Saka scored twice and setup Arsenal’s other goal as they beat Monaco 3-0 on Wednesday night. The winger has now netted eight goals and laid on six assists in his first 14 games in the competition.
“I’m not surprised, but it’s very difficult to do what he’s doing,” said Arteta after the game. “That’s the quality that he has, that’s the ambition that he has and how he’s preparing himself every day.
“You have to be able to do that consistently for many years to be in that position.
“What he’s done at his age you can put it in brackets because you can compare what he’s done in his first six years of professional football - which is exceptional. That’s it.
“His aim is to improve. He has the players and the environment around to continue to do that and I’m sure he will.”
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The win over Monaco puts Arsenal third in the Champions League table and within touching distance of a top-eight finish that would secure them a bye to the last 16.
The Gunners were worthy winners against Monaco and could have been out of sight if they took their chances before half-time.
“We should have scored four or five in the first half. It wasn’t the case,” Arteta added. “Then this is Champions League, the level of opposition is really high.
“The way they create chaos because they have so many players inside and the moment you are not neat in the first two or three passes you can give possession to them.
“We want to overcome that situation. After scoring that second goal it came in the right moment. Overall very positive.
“I think we are enjoying our run and we’re learning. There is a lot to take. We need much more and we need to go through certain moments and I’m sure we will. But the fact that we can compete against any team is the positive thing to take especially in this competition.”
A night to remember: Arsenal wonderkid Myles Lewis-Skelly made his full Champions League debut against Monaco.
Arteta handed Myles Lewis-Skelly a start at left-back in the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori, who are both injured.
In doing so, the 18-year-old became the youngest player to start a Champions League game for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011.
“Really proud moment. He’s one of our own, 18-years-old and he makes his debut starting in the Champions League,” said Arteta.
“It’s just a joy to watch him and a privilege to give a chance to somebody to start to change his career. He certainly took the chance. It’s great that we can trust him and that he can play in this environment with this level. I was really happy with his performance.”
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