Bukayo Saka has sent a three-word message to the Arsenal fans following their 3-0 win over Monaco. The Gunners moved "one step closer" to automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16 after a comfortable win over the Ligue 1 side at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta's side were dominant from the get-go but it took them until the 34th minute to take the lead as Saka was there at the back post to finish off a fine team move. The Gunners could have been further ahead at the break when Martin Odegaard ran clean through on goal but he dragged his effort wide of target.
Further opportunities went amiss at the start of the second period as Gabriel Jesus, Odegaard and Leandro Trossard had chances to double Arsenal's lead, but it was that man Saka who made it 2-0. With 12 minutes of normal time to go, a mistake from Monaco allowed Saka to pounce and fire the ball into the corner.
Saka was involved in Arsenal's third goal, too, as they wrapped up the three points. The 22-year-old fired the ball across the box and Kai Havertz flicked the ball, via a deflection, into the back of the net. It capped off a fine evening's work for the Gunners, who move up to third in the Champions League table.
After the game, Saka, who was awarded as the Player of the Match, took to Instagram to send a message to the Gunners faithful. He said: "One step closer," accompanied with five photos. Saka now has eight goals and six assists in 14 Champions League appearances since the start of last season.
At one point during their Champions League campaign, Arsenal looked in a spot of bother after drawing with Atalanta and losing to Inter Milan, but they have since responded to rack up back-to-back wins over Sporting CP and Monaco and look set to qualify for the last 16 in an automatic spot.
The Gunners face Dinamo Zagreb and Girona in their final two Champions League matches after Christmas and those fixtures are favourable as they bid to finish in a top-eight spot. If Arsenal finish higher than eighth in the new format, they would avoid a knockout play-off tie in February and progress straight into the last 16.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said in his post-match press conference: "Well, very happy with the win, with a clean sheet, with the fact that we had to change a few players, players that haven’t played that much and they still performed really well and put us in a good position in the group."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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