Mikel Arteta pushed Arsenal up to third in the Champions League table last night following their dominant home display against Monaco.
After Sunday’s 1-1 devastating draw to Fulham in the league, Arteta made a significant number of changes, hoping to get Arsenal back to winning ways. Among those changes was Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was selected for the first European appearance of his career.
Despite struggling to break the deadlock in the first half, Arsenal took the lead in the 34th minute. Bukayo Saka fired a low, sweeping cross from Gabriel Jesus into Radosław Majecki’s near post from just a few yards out with remarkable composure.
Monaco, who currently sit third in Ligue 1, kept Arsenal at bay for nearly the entire game. It wasn’t until the 78th minute that Saka struck again, making the most of some poor defending by Monaco to slot the ball into the net from close range.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Kai Havertz sealed the victory with a third goal, deceiving the goalkeeper and redirecting Saka’s shot into the net from inside the six-yard box.
Having scored two goals and assisted the third, albeit unintentionally, Saka walked up to collect his prestigious Man of the Match award in style. One of the world’s most beloved footballers ensured Arsenal took a step closer to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages.
Newcomer Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, and fellow Englishman Saka couldn’t speak more highly of each other. “He’s another player who could be talked about in similar gushing terms in the future,” said Lewis-Skelly as reported by the BBC. “Looking up to Bukayo, he has that mindset, he has everything—I’ve learned a lot from him, and I want to keep learning.”
Saka v AS Monaco
(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Arteta spoke about Lewis-Skelly’s full debut after the match and expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance as quoted by Arsenal Media “I’m very happy—it’s always very difficult to win in the Champions League. A 3-0 win and a clean sheet puts us in a really good position in the group. I’m really pleased to see some players who haven’t played much, like Myles, coming in and having his full debut at 18 years old and performing the way he did. It was great.”
The Spaniard further elaborated on Lewis-Skelly’s performance: “He’s earned the chance for us to trust him, to believe in him. Obviously, there are certain conditions that have facilitated him being here, and when he had the chance, he grabbed it. He played with a lot of personality, a lot of courage, and competed really well in the game.”
Hopefully, last night’s European outing for the young Englishman will set him up for a successful career at The Gunners!
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Paul Merson