Anne Hathaway has congratulated Bukayo Saka on his return from injury. The Hollywood actress was in attendance at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as the 23-year-old winger fired Arsenal to victory against Fulham.
Saka, who made his first appearance for the Gunners since December, replaced Ethan Nwaneri in the second half – and it didn't take him long to make an impact. The England international doubled Arsenal's lead with a quarter of an hour left to play.
After giving the North Londoners some much-needed breathing space, Saka celebrated his goal with Sam Wilson, who helped him recover from hamstring surgery. The Hale End graduate embraced the lead physical performance coach before returning to the pitch.
Hathaway was delighted with Saka's performance, marking his return from the sidelines with a celebratory post on Instagram. The 42-year-old, who only recently revealed that she's an Arsenal fan, said: "Welcome back #7 #COYG."
During an interview to promote a film, 'The Idea of You', alongside Nicholas Galitzine last year, Hathaway was spotted celebrating a goal scored by Leandro Trossard in the Gunners' 2-0 win over Wolves. The Hollywood actress said: "Sorry, we’re both fans of the same team, and there’s a match going on right now, and during our last interview they scored."
Trossard reached out to Hathaway after noticing the video online. The Arsenal forward said: "Hi Anne, I really loved your celebration the other day for my goal. Keep supporting us and I'll hopefully see you soon at the Emirates."
Galitzine later revealed: "Anne Hathaway is a massive Arsenal supporter. I’m in a group chat with her family, who are all Arsenal supporters. [They’re] obsessed."
Arteta was just as delighted as Hathaway with Saka's performance. Speaking to reporters after the game, the Spaniard said: "I think it's a beautiful moment to see how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo.
"He's not a surprise to any of us and I think the best example is his reaction. Immediately after scoring a goal, what does he do? He goes and says thank you for all the hard work that all the sports science guys, physios and everybody involved in the recovery have done for him to be in the condition that he is.
"I think he lifted the stadium, the energy and it's great to have him back," added Arteta. "He was very positive. I think the first [game] is always the one, how am I going to feel? Because now I have a different opposition in front of me, different demands and pressure.
"He dealt with it really well and the downside to that is Gabi and Jurrien, we don't know how they're going to be. We'll be assessing them tomorrow and understand better how we are with those two."
On Saka's moment with Wilson, Arteta said: "As a manager I'm part of the staff. We all love this kind of recognition and gestures because it goes beyond the professional side of it.
"There is a connection there that is so necessary and to be able to appreciate as well the amount of work, stress and responsibility that they have to go through because they will be like this. I hope everything goes well and the work that we've done is going to work. So, I was very pleased with that."
Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel
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
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.