Bukayo Saka sparks Arsenal vs Lille as he answers Arteta’s challenge

Arsenal sent Lille home with a 3-0 Champions League win, and Bukayo Saka was the difference from the bench: after an “illness”, he came on, set up Eberechi Eze for the 2-0 and then rolled in the third.

Arteta’s demand

The Gunners boss had told him he should aim for “two or three” goals per game. Saka didn’t reach that tally on the night, but he still underlined his impact—this season he has four goals in nine games, and in major European competitions he now stands on 19 Arsenal goals.

The message and the tweak

Arteta said he has deliberately changed Saka’s positioning this term to get him closer to goal, and after a press conference he even joked to him: “I just killed you in the press conference, good luck tomorrow”. The manager also confirmed Saka wasn’t ready to start but was desperate to help, and that his substitute appearance delivered with “real quality”, according to BBC Sport.