This was Bukayo Saka’s moment. Out for 101 days with a hamstring injury, Arsenal supporters crammed into the Emirates with the anticipation of seeing him for the first time this year. They were not disappointed.
The cheers when he began warming up on the touchline in the first half rivalled those that welcomed Mikel Merino’s opener. But neither moment could compare with the decibel levels when Arsenal’s No 7 returned to the Emirates turf, and then scored what turned out to be the match-winning goal six minutes at 36 seconds later.
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After the 2-1 win over Fulham, Mikel Arteta spoke of those six minutes: “A beautiful moment to see how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo. It’s not a surprise to any of us and I think the best example is his reaction.
“Immediately after scoring a goal, what does he do? He goes and says thank you for all the hard work that all the sports science guys, physios and everybody involved in the recovery have done for him to be able to be in the condition that he is. I think he lifted the stadium, the energy and great to have him back.”
Saka was shown hugging Sam Wilson, one of Arsenal’s fitness coaches, in the direct aftermath of the goal.
Wilson is often seen aiding players who are training individually on their roads to recovery but Saka’s recognition of the collective work of Arsenal’s medical staff could be seen at full time with more hugs given to those in the department as he walked towards the tunnel.
Saka celebrates with Arsenal medical staff (Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Arteta declared the 23-year-old “ready to go” at the start of the week and the 24 minutes he played were in line with what was expected before his first competitive appearance since December. His performance also built on an encouraging display on the wing by fellow wide-man Gabriel Martinelli to make Arsenal more dangerous in attack.
Saka’s goal was sparked by Martinelli’s positivity. The Brazil international dribbled forward from midfield before delicately flicking Merino’s cross into Saka’s path to head in at the back post, and it was not the first time he caused issues for the Fulham backline.
Arsenal’s first shots of the game came from Martinelli driving at Timothy Castagne, getting the beating of him and crossing into the box. Later in the game, he nutmegged and floored the Fulham wing-back. According to Opta, Martinelli created five chances and completed two of the three dribbles he attempted.
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Before kick-off, Arsenal’s Premier League matches were averaging 23.6 shots per match (13.9 for and 9.7 against) — the lowest of any side in the competition. Within that, they ranked 11th in the league for shot-creating actions via a take-on. Despite Saka being out for three months, he still comfortably ranked highest at Arsenal on this stat with nine shots created after a take-on and Martinelli second with five.
Arsenal were arguably at their most exciting in recent seasons when their players were taking on defenders in the 2022-23 season. Halfway through that campaign, they were the second-most efficient dribblers in the league and had four different types of dribblers constantly asking questions of the opposition. This season they rank 10th in the league for take-on success rate (43.4 per cent), but the impetus provided by their left winger was particularly timely before the return of their right winger.
“Martinelli I think was superb,” Arteta added. “You see how much we missed him, that threat, that attacking purpose that he has every time he’s on the ball.”
Saka and Martinelli combined for six Premier League goals in that 2022-23 season. Saka assisted five Martinelli goals while Martinelli assisted one Saka goal.
This Saka goal was his 10th in all competitions this term, making it the third successive season he has registered double figures for both goals and assists. Him, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes are the only Premier League players to have done so in that period. Such a force in attack, Saka is still joint-second in the league for assists (10) and ranked first at Arsenal for goal-creating actions (21) as well as five other attacking metrics before kick-off.
Bukayo Saka for Arsenal in the Premier League this season:
◉ Highest xA (5.62)
◉ Most take-ons completed (33)
◉ Most big chances created (19)
◉ Most goals + assists (15)
◉ Most assists (10)He’s back. 👀 pic.twitter.com/qqX2C9fxit
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 31, 2025
He was unlucky not to add an assist to equal his best tally for a season (14), finding Thomas Partey with a deep cross and Leandro Trossard with a quick lay-off inside he box.
Rediscovering goal threat and chance creation through dribbling could be crucial before the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. Given just under half an hour against Fulham, Everton away on Saturday will be the next tester to see how much football Saka is able to play.
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In the meantime, the emergence of Merino as a makeshift No 9 and Ethan Nwaneri as a deputy on the right wing proved valuable again. The opener was the sixth time Merino had given his side the lead in the Premier League from seven goals for both Arsenal and Newcastle United. It was also Nwaneri’s second senior assist for Arsenal, with the first also coming for the Spain international in February’s 2-0 away win at Leicester City.
Even if injuries to defenders Gabriel and Jurrien Timber put a blot on the evening, solutions are coming in forward areas, and Saka is once again the embodiment of a new hope filtering through the Emirates.
(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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