The time for talking is done at Arsenal. Summer signings strengthened the depth of the squad, and there is only so long that missing out on the fine margins in May can be acceptably deemed progress. The Gunners are under pressure to end their six-year trophy drought and finally get over the line.
But the bottle job in the last month has hardly helped their cause. A Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley Stadium was followed by an exit in the FA Cup, back-to-back Premier League losses and a barely convincing two-legged display against **Sporting**in Europe.
The Cityzens can take pole position in the title race with a win on the weekend, and Atletico Madrid stand in the way of a second-ever Champions League final. The struggles simply get harder from here on out, but there is hope that one attacker could be the spark the side needs to succeed.
A leader by example
Tension sat in the air at the Emirates Stadium as Newcastle United continued to crank up the pressure on a slender single-goal lead for the Gunners last weekend. But the atmosphere was given a jolt of positive energy when Bukayo Saka stepped onto the field to take the place of Noni Madueke on the right wing in the 80th minute.
Almost immediately, he delivered to the fans what they were looking for. He peeled rightward to allow Gabriel Martinelli to make the connection in transition, took a clean touch to drive diagonally towards Dan Burn, shifted inside and earned a corner through a deflected strike. That shot and a subsequent key pass, almost matched Madueke’s output from the majority of the match.
This is what Saka does. His plays are seldom flashy or have the creative edge that typifies the ebb and flow from the attacks of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Even Madueke might be a more unpredictable threat than his fellow **England**international. However, Saka’s solid technical base, timing and decisions have allowed him to make more impact throughout the course of a contest.
On top of those contributions, Saka has morphed into more of a talismanic figure for the attack of an **Arsenal**outfit that has never embraced a star figure in their current iteration under Mikel Arteta.
He hit double-digit goals in 2021/22, becoming PFA Young Player of the Year in 2022/23, and peaking at 24 direct goal involvements in 35 Premier League fixtures in 2023/24. Admittedly, this campaign has not been the best for final third efficiency, but his absence is still sorely missed.
It could have been better counterbalanced if Leandro Trossard had sustained his form from the first half of the season or if Madueke made more incisions from the constant chaos he creates off the dribble. But both are squad players for a reason, while neither **Max Dowman**nor **Ethan Nwaneri**have been trusted to take on the mantle as the standard setter from Hale End in the frontline.
The 24-year-old is still the standard-bearer in the attack, and his consistency cannot be undervalued at this stage of the season.
The million-dollar question concerns how sustainably Saka can support the side in the final month of the campaign. He was withdrawn from the **England**camp in March, receiving particular attention from Thomas Tuchel because of his physical struggles in the first season after his Grade 3 hamstring tear. Right now, it is an ongoing issue with his Achilles tendon that lingers in the back of the mind.
Arteta admitted the winger was not ready to feature for more than 15 minutes of the match against the Toon on the weekend. As important as the clash as the Riyadh Air Metropolitano is, there are at least five more fixtures in the schedule before the end of May. A start on Wednesday may be too premature.
Even if that is the case, tactical options are more readily available to the Gunners with his availability.
A restoration of balance
Injuries have been a big theme in the discourse about the demise of the Gunners in April. Eleven players pulled out of international duty in the last week of March, and it has since become clear that physical fatigue has forced Arteta's hand to tackle the run-in with a less-than-optimal approach.
A second-string eleven was selected for the 2-1 defeat in the **FA Cup**quarter-final against **Southampton**at St. Mary’s, but that setback was followed by similarly subpar performances.
Against Bournemouth, Arteta rolled out the infamous trio of ‘finishers’: Martinelli, Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres. The balance had been off in the reverse fixture at the Vitality Stadium at the beginning of the year, and similar issues surfaced in the early kick-off at the Emirates Stadium.
Martinelli offered little connectivity on the left flank even though Myles Lewis-Skelly stepped into midfield, and the frontline looked sharpest when **Bournemouth**were baited out to leave open spaces.
But even then, the passing from **Kai Havertz**in the ten was not up to scratch, so counterattacks went unfinished, the game got stretched repeatedly, and **Arsenal**had no control on their own patch.
Once **Eberechi Eze**returned to the starting eleven for the visit of Sporting, some of these struggles were alleviated. The talismanic ten can turn service from the favoured right flank into real moments of quality at the top of the box, and he plays with a positivity that embraces risk on the biggest stage. But the £68 million man cannot do it alone, and that platform becomes stronger if Saka is in the picture.
Whatever part he can play, Saka’s significance needs no explanation to his team. In his pre-match press conference, club captain **Martin Odegaard**beamed brightly at the return of the number seven.
"When you have players like Bukayo back, he brings something special. Of course, he has quality and all that, but he also lifts the players around him, the people around him. It’s great to have him back. Everyone who is coming back from injury is a boost. We have to use that as a big positive."