Bukayo Saka remains Arsenal’s bright light

The much-anticipated Europa League fixture this past Thursday saw Arsenal concede a terrible late goal that allowed Slavia Prague to tie the match during injury time. As defeating as this was for Gunner faithful’s across the globe, winger Bukayo Saka’s play remained the consistent level he has maintained all year.

Bukayo Saka was a nightmare for the Prague defense, making beautiful, decisive runs throughout the match. The offense seemed very dull and static most of the 90 minutes, the only real time there was any fluidity in attack was when Saka was casting his magic.

The 19-year-old was also the cause of two enticing free-kicks for the Gunners, which one resulted in a Willian striking the post. The Slavia defense could feel his presence on the pitch. He was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch for Arsenal.

As seen in the affair, Saka did miss on a key cross when the Gunners were on a great passing sequence in the Slavia end, but his positives far outweighed his few mistakes. His one on one miss in the first half was wrongly blown for offside, but it was good to see Saka get in behind the Prague defense.

Bukayo Saka remains Arsenal’s bright light as the season appears to be running away from Mikel Arteta’s side

Post game, Arteta sheepishly explained to the media that the whole team was working hard during the match:

"“I think the players stepped in and gave absolutely everything.”  Arteta told the official Arsenal website."

The real truth behind this statement is that Saka was the only player for Arsenal on the pitch who was willing to do the work for his team.

His lung-busting runs from box to box should not go unnoticed. He puts the effort in on both ends of the pitch and was the life-force for this team, filling the void of injured player Kieran Tierney, who usually takes on that responsibility.

In a season filled with inconsistency and turmoil, Saka has remained our star and gives the club of Arsenal hope for the future.

The destiny of Mikel Arteta is unclear, and fans are doubting if he will be a part of the long-term plan, but they know Saka is a player they need to build around. If Arteta wants any chance of advancing in the Europa Leauge and progressing for the future, he should build his entire team around Saka for this rebuild, he has that much influence on matches.

He will be the deciding factor in the next leg and will push Arsenal through to the semi-finals. Time is running out, like Arteta said.