Arsenal secured a convincing 3-0 Champions League victory over Lille at the Emirates Stadium, with Bukayo Saka delivering a decisive cameo from the bench. The England forward, who had been challenged by manager Mikel Arteta to aim for “two or three” goals per game, provided the assist for Eberechi Eze’s goal that doubled Arsenal’s lead before scoring the third himself.
Saka’s impact was all the more impressive given he had been suffering from an illness. Arteta revealed after the match that the 25-year-old “wasn’t feeling that good yesterday and today” and was not ready to start, but “he was really wanting to contribute to the team if it was needed and he came on and made a huge impact and delivered with real quality.”
The Arsenal boss had publicly set Saka a lofty target before the game, saying: “When he talks about scoring a certain amount of goals, he needs to be thinking about scoring a certain amount of goals per game. If that shifts, that mentality, he will get into those positions and score more goals.” Arteta also explained he has tweaked Saka’s positioning this season to get him closer to goal. “That is where we need to get him,” Arteta said. “And if he misses the chance, so be it. At the end, the more volume we generate, the bigger the probability of him scoring more goals.”
Saka’s goal against Lille was a confident one-touch finish, coming after he had missed a late one-on-one opportunity in Saturday’s Premier League victory over Leeds. Arteta praised his forward’s movement: “He has been getting in great positions, getting shots, getting one-touch finishes and tap-ins. That is the kind of unpredictability we have with that player, otherwise we know how the opponent is going to defend him. He is doing well, he could have had another four or five goals by now, easily.”
The 25-year-old now has four goals in nine games this season and appears to be taking the next step in his evolution as Arsenal’s key man. He has scored 20 goals in a season once in his career, during the 2023-24 campaign when he netted 16 in the Premier League. His England form has also been prolific, with five goals in his last four matches, including a double in the 7-0 Nations League demolition of Croatia during the recent international break. For Arsenal in Europe, Saka now has 19 goals in major European competitions, behind only Thierry Henry (42), while his nine Champions League assists place him behind Henry (16) and Cesc Fabregas (14).
Arteta also shared a light-hearted moment from before the match, revealing he spoke to Saka after his press conference. “I said, ‘Bukayo I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow,'” Arteta recalled. “He was laughing. He knows that we have discussed these kind of things and he takes it because he wants to be the best version of himself. In order to do that, you have to put big objectives and challenges and try to reason by working and being consistent – and when it doesn’t work, keep going because he has the ability to do it.”
While Saka stole the headlines, Arteta made five changes to the side that started against Leeds, giving opportunities to fringe players. Eberechi Eze, making just his third start of the season in all competitions, showed flashes of quality and scored Arsenal’s second goal – his first of the season. Noni Madueke, deployed on the right wing, had a mixed night, providing the assist for Jurrien Timber’s classy opening goal but facing questions over his end product.
It was a tougher evening for Viktor Gyokeres, who had just 12 touches before being replaced. The Sweden striker scored 21 goals in all competitions last season as Arsenal won the title for the first time in 22 years, but he struggled to make an impact against Lille. Kai Havertz, introduced alongside Saka and Martin Odegaard after Arsenal went 1-0 up, looked a more natural fit for the frontline and teed up Saka’s goal. All three substitutes contributed, underlining why they remain the first names on Arteta’s teamsheet.