Bukayo Saka started for Arsenal in an unusual position against Wigan and his performance in the comfortable 4-0 FA Cup win has given Mikel Arteta food for thought
Bukayo Saka of Arsenal
Bukayo Saka played in central midfield(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
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Mikel Arteta says that Arsenal may field Bukayo Saka in central midfield after being encouraged by the results against Wigan. Saka was a late addition to the side which beat Wigan 4-0 in the FA Cup on Sunday and was played away from his usual position on the right wing.
Arteta was forced to change his starting line-up after Riccardo Calafiori pulled up in the warm-up. He opted to bring in Saka for the defender, abandoning the idea to play Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield and instead giving Saka an unfamiliar role.
The experiment reaped rewards, with Arsenal scoring four times in 16 minutes in the first half to kill the game. Eberechi Eze played through balls for Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli to score before Saka's cross forced an own goal from Jack Hunt. Gabriel Jesus added a fourth goal in a comfortable win for the Gunners, which put them into the fifth round.
Saka combined nicely with Madueke, who played in his usual right wing position, and Arteta was pleased with what he saw from the England star, who was replaced at half-time to manage his minutes.
"That’s something that’s a possibility and I wanted to try it, and we might use it in the future," Arteta said. "There are still so many games, competitions and different scenarios to play in this season, and that’s a possibility that we have."
Asked about the benefits of the switch, he added: "Well, he's more central, he's closer to the goal. It's a bit more difficult for the opponent to get his reference constantly. He can interchange positions with a wide player as well, and he’s so good at picking those spaces. When he’s there, he can really hurt you with the ball."
Arteta had initially wanted to give Lews-Skelly a chance in central midfield, but Calafiori's injury prompted a rethink. "I always tell them, be ready because in the role that you have you can change any minute and Bukayo had to be ready and he was made aware of that very, very, very late," Arteta explained.
Noni Madueke of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka was fielded alongside Noni Madueke in a rarity (Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
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"But you need to understand the position, you need to understand the global intentions of the team and if you do that then you can perform and I think he might have had a really good game."
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown liked what he saw from Saka, who played in the role usually reserved for captain Martin Odegaard, who missed the game after picking up a knock in the draw at Brentford. “It’s interesting because Saka has played in the Odegaard role, obviously a last-minute change, and it’s really opened him up," Keown said on TNT Sports at half-time.
“It’s been good for his confidence. He’s playing with freedom, and it was a really good ball. Both of them (Saka and Madueke), that’s England’s right-hand side, both playing there together at the same time. Too much for Wigan.”
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