Bukayo Saka impressed on his first start since returning from injury as Arsenal thrashed Real Madrid, but the winger had to be taken off with 15 minutes remaining
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka is ‘fine’ after the winger was subbed off on his first start back from injury. Saka was selected from the off in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final clash against Real Madrid.
The winger caught the eye on his return in a lively display from the right wing. Two stunning free-kicks from Declan Rice and Mikel Merino’s strike put the Gunners in full control of the tie heading into next week’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
Concerningly, Saka was forced off with an apparent injury with 15 minutes remaining, to be replaced by Leandro Trossard. But Arteta is confident that the Englishman will quickly recover.
And he insisted he is not expecting the winger to be sidelined for any amount of time. The Gunners boss also paid tribute to Saka’s performance and the way he helps the team as a whole.
“He’s fine, I think it was a kick on the free-kick action. He elevates the level of the team. It’s a fear factor every time he’s on the ball because he’s a real threat and on top of that he generates more space for the team,” Arteta told Prime Video.
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Arteta was delighted with his team for the way in which they swept aside Madrid. And he paid a special tribute to the home crowd for the atmosphere they created at the Emirates.
“Beautiful. I’m so happy, so proud. We have the opportunity to make a lot of people happy and we certainly did that,” Arteta added.
“I’ve never seen the stadium like this. Before the game they were already playing the game and that created the night. For big European nights you need stadiums that can create atmosphere.
“You need individual magic and there we go. We haven’t scored a free-kick since 2021. And tonight we scored two in 12 minutes.
“If there is a player that can do it, it’s Dec. Then you have to execute it at the highest level. We were doing things very well but at the end we were lacking that final connection. We managed to do that in the second-half so much better.
“We need to go there. We know we have to step up again and prepare to win it. It’s another step in the right direction and we have to do another one at the Bernabeu.”
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