Bukayo Saka playing just off the striker? Sign me up. Arsenal’s most notable academy find in recent years moved central to help Mikel Arteta’s team win 3-0 away to Sheffield United on Sunday.
It was a predictably comfortable start to a cushy run of fixtures in the Premier League that should cloak Arteta in another Halo in time for Summer. To his credit, Arteta resisted the obvious with Saka, and Arsenal were more proactive for it.
The obvious move with Saka was to shift him to left-back to cover for Kieran Tierney’s injury. Cedric Soares had been drab against Slavia Prague, Saka had gotten his first-team breakthrough as a left-sided wing-back, so it was all good.
Thing is Saka’s at a stage in his development where he’s past filling in as a makeshift this or that. He’s nobody’s auxiliary whatever. You get the point…
Arteta moved him into the de facto 10 role and put Granit Xhaka at left-back, while Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe flanked in-form Alexandre Lacazette. That’s right, I said in-form!!! Live with it.
Laca kept his place because Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had the “flu.” AKA thrown a strop and pushing for a transfer. Aimless speculation? Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet against it.
Saka took the central spot because of injuries to Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard. What followed has to have given Arteta food for thought about the future of Arsenal’s brightest young thing.
Saka stood out because he rarely stood still. He stayed on the move and offered every front player a roving target. His movement helped Arsenal produce some slick moves for the first time since the last time Arteta’s men tore into relegation fodder — West Brom away on January 2, if memory serves.
The impact of Saka central was obvious early when Pablo Mari’s header allowed the teenager to spin past Oliver Norwood in the middle of the park. Martinelli came in from the left to pick up the loose ball and Saka continued his run outside the Brazilian.
One pass from Martinelli found Saka, who flashed a shot just over. It was an early indicator of Arsenal’s greater intent and imagination. Boy, it’s been too long since I was able to use those words in relation to this team and keep a straight face.
Another smart break involved Lacazette and Saka exchanging passes before the latter fed an onrushing Dani Ceballos, who back-heeled to Lacazette. The striker fed Martinelli on the left, and the returning forward lashed one into the side netting.
Saka was at the heart of yet another sweeping move when he turned Enda Stevens in the middle of the pitch and played the ball to Lacazette before continuing his run. Arsenal’s No. 9 had his back to goal and held off his defender long enough to return the ball to Saka, who rolled one into the path of Martinelli, free again on the left. His low cross ended up in a shot for Calum Chambers.
Three quick, sweet moves stitched together by Saka’s football intelligence and perpetual motion. When those qualities are making your forward play tick, good things happen. Arsenal didn’t have to wait long for something even better.
The first goal came on 33 minutes when Thomas Partey fed a pass into Lacazette, who immediately laid the ball off to Saka. He played it first time to Ceballos, Arsenal’s furthest player forward in the box, who teed up Lacazette with a cute flick, and the Frenchman made no mistake.
This move purred so loud it nearly woke my allergies. The movement, timing and the one- and two-touch passes were all reminiscent of Wengerball at its finest.
Probably more like a tall glass of mineral water with a couple of slices of skinless chicken for The Boss, but the point is well taken.
Another thing that should be well received is the positive impact Ceballos had on the football Arsenal produced. He’s not everybody’s favourite, but I’ve written several times this season how the Spaniard possesses obvious technical qualities too many others in this squad lack.
There goes my told-you-so moment (one of them anyway), so back to regularly scheduled programming, Anatomy of a Goal. As much as the passing and movement, I enjoyed the positioning of Arsenal’s main men in the build-up to the opener.
Martinelli and Lacazette were both on the left side of the box, with Ceballos just ahead in the middle. Saka, meanwhile, was also central and just inside the D.
Arsenal had numbers in dangerous areas. Not only that, but players were close enough together to produce the kind of quick combination that followed Partey’s pass. Cohesion is the new word of the day.
Saka was a big part of why things just connected better up top in this game. His withdrawal after 69 minutes for Willian (yawn) was a cause for concern, but as yet there’s been no indication of a serious problem.
Arsenal had few problems after Saka left the pitch, especially when John Lundstam’s God-awful pass fell to an otherwise subdued Pepe. The winger cut inside and hit a fairly tame shot that fortunately rebounded to a typically keen and alert Martinelli.
His tap-in goal was just reward for a performance full of vim, vigour, and a cutting edge. Martinelli is direct and not afraid to try things. He takes the uniform structure out of the Arteta blueprint, and that’s no bad thing.
It also helps when Partey is on song. He’s been anything but for a worryingly long time this season, but playing the side bottom of the table helped Partey get some of his groove back.
The £45-million-rated midfielder teed up Lacazette for the third with a superb defence-splitting pass on the turn. Cesc Fabregas would be proud.
Speaking of pride, Lacazette restored more than a little by scoring his 12th and 13th league goals of this campaign. He is horribly criticised by a section of the fanbase happy to make him the scapegoat for all the world’s ills, but Lacazette is the striker finding the net, four times in his last six domestic outings to be exact. Time to put a smidgeon of respect on his name.
Respect isn’t due Arteta, even after a win this impressive. Remember, the Blades are as good as down, with just 14 points to their credit and a caretaker manager in charge.
Yet this performance did show what Arsenal can achieve when the tactical shackles are loosened. When a midfielder like Ceballos are allowed to raid forward. When a player with Martinelli’s industry and drive is given a start.
The true catalyst for a more progressive team is putting Saka in the middle. I’ve long thought he belongs in a central role, something that could salvage this season and save Arsenal a bundle in the transfer market.
Smith Rowe and Odegaard are doubts for Thursday’s second leg against Slavia, so Saka’s central act could get an encore. It should become a permanent ploy if Odegaard returns to Real Madrid immediately after his loan finishes.
The 49 Steps 
[…] There’s an obvious reason why Arteta has preferred Alexandre Lacazette to lead the line through the middle. For all the Frenchman’s failings, he knows when to drop off, how to back into defenders and still bring others into the game with quick passes and neat touches. Lacazette’s combination play with centrally-raiding Bukayo Saka was key to thrashing the Blades. […]
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