Bukayo Saka responded to Mikel Arteta’s demand for greater goalscoring impact by coming off the bench to influence Arsenal’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Lille.
The England forward had been challenged by his manager to target “two or three” goals per match. He did not reach that figure against the French side, but after recovering from illness he assisted Eberechi Eze’s goal for 2-0 before scoring Arsenal’s third.
Saka’s goal was a composed one-touch finish, coming four days after he had missed a late one-on-one chance in the Premier League win over Leeds. It was his fourth goal in nine games this season.
The 25-year-old has scored 20 goals in a season only once, when he scored 16 in the Premier League during the 2023-24 campaign. He has, however, been in strong form for England, scoring five times in his last four matches, including twice in the 7-0 Nations League win over Croatia during the recent international break.
Saka has scored 19 goals for Arsenal in major European competition, with only Thierry Henry ahead of him on 42. His nine Champions League assists also leave him behind Henry, on 16, and Cesc Fabregas, on 14.
Arteta has adjusted Saka’s position this season to bring him closer to goal, a deliberate move designed to increase his scoring opportunities.
“That is where we need to get him,” Arteta said before the match. “And if he misses the chance, so be it. At the end, the more volume we generate, the bigger the probability of him scoring more goals.”
The Arsenal manager said Saka’s recent movement and finishing were encouraging.
“He has been getting in great positions, getting shots, getting one-touch finishes and tap-ins,” Arteta added. “That is the kind of unpredictability we have with that player.”
Arteta said Saka could already have scored “another four or five goals” and added that the winger needed to think about his target on a per-game basis.
Saka has not revealed his own objectives, but Arteta was pleased with his reaction after being told he was not well enough to start against Lille.
“He wasn’t feeling that good yesterday and today, as he had some sort of illness,” Arteta said. “He wasn’t ready to start but he was really wanting to contribute to the team if it was needed and he came on and made a huge impact and delivered with real quality.”
Arteta also told Saka after the pre-match news conference: “I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow.” The player laughed, with Arteta saying Saka accepted the challenge because he wanted to become the best version of himself.
Eze, making only his third start of the season, scored his first Arsenal goal, while Noni Madueke assisted Jurrien Timber’s opener after moving to the right wing.
Viktor Gyokeres had a difficult evening, managing only 12 touches before being substituted. Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Saka were introduced after Arsenal went 1-0 up, underlining their importance to Arteta’s team.
