Bukayo Saka quietly takes on Arsenal role no one else wants

Bukayo Saka is quite comfortably one of the best players the Arsenal academy has ever produced. In fact, he's close to being mentioned in Arsenal's all-time best players list. If he carries on his career he way he's started it, his inclusion there will be a dead cert.

Saka is many things - he's a world-class dribbler, an excellent shot taker and an overall likeable character. But one thing which is often overlooked is his workrate.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that a player who started his Arsenal senior career as a defender still likes to get stuck in, but it comes a surprise each time.

Bukayo Saka took the defensive onus for Arsenal vs Atlético Madrid

Against Atlético Madrid, a game that Arsenal won rather convincingly, Bukayo Saka was Arsenal's most important player. Arsenal is often praised for its defensive ability, and rightly so, but that isn't just because of the defenders and the goalkeeper.

Indeed, Arsenal's defensive philosophy begins in the final third, and that was yet again put on display by Bukayo Saka tonight.

Against Atlético Madrid, Bukayo Saka made an impressive five defensive contributions, the most of any Arsenal attacker. Impressively, Saka won an additional four duels, only bettered by Viktor Gyökeres in Arsenal red.

To be a nuisance like this in the opposing half is something that shouldn't go overlooked. As mentioned, it is a key reason why Arsenal is seen as the defensive unit they are.

That's not to reduce Saka's performance to just his defensive acumen, either. Let's not overlook that he took more shots (5) than any other player on the pitch.

To cut a long story short, Bukayo Saka was here, there and everywhere.

We shouldn't forget that before Bukayo Saka returned from his injury, Arsenal was only just entering second gear. Now that he is back and properly back in the action, Arsenal fans can look forward to what's to come.

Arsenal has faced three difficult challenges this season - Liverpool, Man City and Atlético Madrid. It can be argued that of the three matches, Atlético was the real challenge - they are known to be stubborn and difficult to break down. Heck, even Real Madrid failed this season.

The fact that Arsenal overcame this challenge with flying colors, with Bukayo Saka acting as the unsung hero, shows that they are more than capable of winning the Champions League this season.

Yeah, we said it.