‘Unbelievable’ Bukayo Saka stars as Arsenal sink Wolves in flying EPL start

LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised the “unbelievable” Bukayo Saka for inspiring a 2-0 English Premier League opening victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Aug 17.

Kai Havertz put the Gunners ahead from Saka’s assist in the first half at the Emirates Stadium, before the latter wrapped up the points after the interval with a brilliant strike to cap a virtuoso display.

“Bukayo had an unbelievable action to score the 2-0. With good players it’s like that. Like with (Lionel) Messi, I know he’s going to come in and do that, but you can’t stop him,” Arteta said of Saka’s eye-catching goal.

It was exactly the kind of statement win that Arsenal needed after their manager admitted they will have to be almost perfect to end Manchester City’s four-year reign as champions.

“First half we were really good,” Arteta added.

“Really aggressive, really intense. A lot of purpose to our attack. A lot of threat in the box. We generated a lot. We probably should have scored two or three. Second half we became a bit sloppy. But what I see is the willingness.

“With the first game, you have some uncertainty in how you will respond against a really difficult opponent. Score two, clean sheet, win. A lot of positives to take from the game.”

Arsenal enjoyed a record-breaking 2023-24 campaign, winning more games than ever before in the division, but were still pipped to the title despite their second-highest tally of 89 points. City had 91 points as the Gunners were forced to settle for a runners-up berth for a second successive season.

Arsenal have not won the title since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” went unbeaten through the 2003-04 campaign and chalked up a club-record 90 points.

But the painful near-misses endured by Arteta’s men have not dulled their appetite for success, with Arteta’s quirky man-management fuelling the fire.

In the close season, the Spaniard had hired a group of professional pickpockets to teach his squad a valuable lesson.

Unaware of the pickpockets’ presence at a team dinner, Arsenal’s players were relieved of their valuables as Arteta took the opportunity to remind them to be alert at all times, on and off the pitch.

But stealing the Premier League title from City would not be so easy for Arteta.

He has so far opted against signing the striker that many regard as the missing piece in Arsenal’s title jigsaw.

Riccardo Calafiori was the only major close-season signing from Bologna, but the Italy defender was named on the bench and did not feature against Wolves.

The club have been linked with Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino and despite the call for new recruits, Arteta looks set to compete with the squad he has.

“In the Premier League, you have to fight and dig in, and every game is a nightmare,” he added.

“Today, we played a really good opponent. So, you really have to earn it, and we have earned it. We won, we take a lot of positives, we move.” AFP