Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka scored a late goal himself but will not be in a hurry to make an early exit after missing out on his Gunners team-mate's crucial goal.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is often one of the first players for the Gunners to score a late goal, but he left early in 2018, resulting in a dramatic equalizer for his boyhood club. missed.
Saka, 22, has been a regular for the Gunners this season. The England international only missed a few games, and he scored 16 goals and provided 13 assists in 37 appearances for Mikel Arteta's side.
But back in 2018, the forward was one of the academy hopefuls in position to take on Chelsea in the London derby at the Emirates Stadium. It was Arsene Wenger's last season in charge, and every point was crucial in order to qualify for Europe.
Jack Wilshere had given the Gunners the lead before Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso turned the game around. Saka was sent off early with Arsenal still leading 2-1, but his reaction to Hector Bellerin's stunning equalizer could only be heard from outside.
Saka was asked by Snickers to rank football fans' own goals, including those whose batteries died while they had tickets on their phones. But when he was asked about missing out on goals because he was standing in line to buy food, he answered one thing better.
“It’s an 11 (out of 10),” Saka said. “I've done this before and it was a bad feeling. I remember being sent off early in the Arsenal vs Chelsea game. Hector Bellerin scored the equalizer late on and I was sent off. I heard that sound instantly.”
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That was no ordinary goal either. All of Bellerin's shots are collector's items, but this time the right-back sent the home fans into a frenzy when he found the top corner of Thibaut Courtois' net three minutes into stoppage time. So enthusiastic, in fact, that Saka claims. Their voices could be heard from outside the ground.
According to the BBC, Wenger said after the draw: “It was a great football game.'' “That's what I want people to talk about. Today the media and social networks are driving everyone crazy, but what's important to me is a good football match.
“We played three games in six days and you could see that the team gave it their all.We had a busy schedule and made some bad decisions, but it was still great for our game. It has quality.”
The points extended Arsenal's unbeaten run to seven games at the start of the year, but they lost five of their next seven games, dashing their remaining Champions League hopes. Manager Wenger announced in April 2018 that he would be leaving the team at the end of this season, and the team finished the season in 6th place.
Saka never featured in a first-team game under Wenger, only making his debut under Unai Emery in November 2018. However, the winger had a chance to play against Le Professor in December 2022, when Wenger returned to the Emirates Stadium for the match. League victory against West Ham.
Arsenal executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis said of the encounter: “Bukayo didn't know him, but he immediately called him 'boss'.'' “He said, 'Boss, how can we improve?' [and] Arsene said very dryly: “I think you could use your right foot a little more.''
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