Drop Bukayo Saka at Your Peril, Mikel Arteta

Few players truly stood out on Saturday night.

Gabriel Magalhaes once again proved his worth with an excellent display in his toughest match to date, but apart from the Brazilian’s security and dependability at the back, there were no notable Arsenal mentions.

Apart, of course, from those who were just 19 years old.

How many times will we come out of matches where the youngest player in the starting lineup was their best player? How many times will we see the side trudge their way into openings and lack spark, other than the no longer hidden talents of Bukayo Saka?

How many times must we rest our hopes on the versatile, diminutive forward to drive with the ball and link up the play for us to stand a chance of winning? How many times are we going to praise his endeavour but feel let down by others?

Too many times, it seems.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1317828530370015232

However, while the performance at the Etihad was not in any way woeful, it did once again highlight that this Arsenal team have an unfortunate dependence on the academy star to offer us a meaningful threat.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is being asked to do a job he’d rather not, Nicolas Pepe does facets of his game well but other areas are sorely lacking, while Willian has continued his Chelsea trend of blowing hot and very cold.

There are no supporters in the ground, but if there were, it’d be Saka’s name sung the loudest. He is the beating heart of the team, the ying and the yang. Everything he does is so vibrant and expressive that it becomes impossible not to sit and marvel.

If a move looks to have broken down he’ll resurrect it from the turf. If a defender is touch tight he’ll have the variation in his movements to evade his marker. If a teammate is in a promising position then he’ll sacrifice himself to open space.

Mikel Arteta is no fool. He knows full well that Saka can’t be dropped from this team. Youthful exuberance is one thing, but combining that with a raw natural ability and the intelligence of a player ten years his senior make for a formidable package.

We’re yearning for Pepe to justify his price tag but meanwhile Saka is adding zeros to his own valuation with each passing game.

Start him every week and we’ll win football matches.