Arsenal picked up an emphatic 5-1 win against Sporting CP in the Champions League.
The Portuguese giants have been really strong in recent years, especially at home. They hadn’t lost a game at the Estadio Jose Alvalade for 18 months and had even battered teams like Manchester City.
Everyone expected it to be a really tough test for Arsenal on Tuesday night, but Mikel Arteta’s men made it look easy and smashed five past Sporting.
Bukayo Saka was absolutely outstanding and was rightly awarded the Player of the Match award.
Saka is one of the best players in world football.
The Englishman has been getting better and better every season since he made his debut, and he has started this campaign magnificently as well.
Against Sporting on Tuesday night, Saka assisted Kai Havertz’s goal before scoring one himself in the second half. He was a threat from start to finish and was a nightmare to defend against.
Media outlets in Portugal don’t see Saka every week like we do. After watching him in action against their country’s champions, they were all amazed.
Bola Na Rede wrote about the Arsenal number seven: “It is inevitable not to talk about Saka. In most teams, there is always an unbalancer, and in Arsenal, that player is Saka.
“He was exploring the right aisle well and was even better in the interior combinations, always finding space to attack, as he did for Arsenal’s second goal, and also to try his own luck to target the Sporting goal.
“He left his mark in the game by converting the penalty that gave Londoners their fourth goal in the game.”
Bukayo Saka in 2024/25 so farGames playedGoalsAssistsPremier League1148Champions League421
Mais Football said about Saka: “Equipped with a considerable repertoire of technical resources, it is almost impossible to predict where he will go when facing an opponent one-on-one. On Tuesday, he was a tremendous headache for Maxi Araújo and also for Gonçalo Inácio.
“The second goal is very much his, the way he made the ball pass under Franco Israel so that Havertz only had to touch it with the goal wide open.
“He took the penalty with remarkable coolness that halted Sporting’s reaction in the second half, showing that the ghost of 11 meters was definitively locked in a drawer.”
Photo by David Ramos – UEFA/UEFA via Getty ImagesTwo players made Saka unstoppable vs Sporting
Saka, on his own, is very difficult to contain, but the Arsenal man had plenty of help in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Martin Odegaard ran the show again, and he constantly combined with Saka. The duo showed their incredible chemistry once again and were brilliant together.
Another player who helped Saka a lot was Jurrien Timber. The Dutchman was absolutely outstanding against Sporting and even got an assist to his name
A trio of Saka, Odegaard and Timber is a nightmare for any team to defend against. Sporting learnt that the hard way on Tuesday, and we hope all three of them will get even better in the coming months.
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