Ian Wright has praised Bukayo Saka for causing Nottingham Forest ‘a lot of problems’ for the brief time he was on the pitch during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
After 27 minutes, Saka had to go off injured, with substitute Reiss Nelson coming off the bench and netting himself a brace and an assist.
Whilst Gabriel Martinelli got the plaudits for opening the scoring, both Ian Wright and Owen Hargreaves praised Ben White for his unselfish run that allowed Saka to supply the assist to Martinelli.
This has been a regular occurrence from the versatile defender this term, who has thrived at right-back ever since Mikel Arteta decided to alter his position from last season.
Just like in previous games, Arsenal started off pretty quickly again, but this time, they were ruthless and killed the game off in the second, something which they failed to do in their last two Premier League matches.
That was touched upon by Wright, who mentioned how Jesse Lingard was ‘worried’ about Ben White on the flanks, as he told Premier League Productions.
“That’s what they do (start fast),” said Wright. “We know that they can run out of steam in the second half, as they did against Southampton and Leeds. But they start very quickly.
“Saka was causing Lodi a lot of problems. It was a good move from them. They win the ball back. It’s the speed in which they get it to the other side. This was a great pass by Martinelli, then Ben White’s run outside and it’s a great ball in from Saka. And great forward play getting in front of the defender.
“Jesse Lingard is worried about Ben White’s run, which is a very good run and then Martinelli’s run is fantastic, getting in front of the defender and it’s a fantastic goal.”
Hargreaves added: “The ball from Martinelli is great. But this ball from Ben White gives Saka that little moment to get that ball in. You love to see the winger from the other side attack and follow the ball in.”
ARSENAL ARE BACK AT THE TOP OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Erling Haaland-less Manchester City proved their worth yesterday by beating Leicester City and moving to the top of the Premier League table thanks to a stunning Kevin de Bruyne free-kick.
But Arsenal answered their Premier League title rivals back, with not just all three points against Nottingham Forest, but an emphatic win.
That’s 30 goals scored from 12 Premier League games for the Gunners, and what’s even more impressive, is that the current top two have a game in hand on many teams below them.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
