Arsenal have made sure that the Premier League title race will head to the final day of the season.
For two campaigns running, Mikel Arteta and his players are rightfully challenging for English football’s main crown.
It wasn’t so long ago that everything was going wrong towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign, the Unai Emery appointment didn’t work and Mikel Arteta was finishing eighth back-to-back at Arsenal.
There were dark clouds over the Emirates, senior players were under-performing, a lack of leadership, cultural issues and calls for the owners to go.
That’s out-of-sorts Manchester United now, but Arsenal were also in that boat, once upon a time, but now they have gotten out of it.
Yes, that all-important title hasn’t been won yet, but you just sense that it is around the corner and it’s a matter of time before they are champions of England.
If it does happen, one man who deserves huge credit for Arsenal’s rise is Bukayo Saka.
Michael Owen praised the England star for what he has become over the years and how the club have ‘created this great player’, as he told Premier League Productions (12/05/24 at 3:50 pm).
The 22-year-old has 16 Premier League goals and nine assists to his name, after hitting 14 and 11 during the previous campaign.
Don’t also forget Saka’s four goals and four assists in his debut campaign as a Champions League player.
All in all, it has been a remarkable rise for the Hale-End star and Owen thinks he can still reach much higher levels.
Bukayo Saka’s transformation at Arsenal
“Quite incredible and a top player,” said Owen “The consistency is what has impressed me in recent times.
“Everybody questioned, when he first came onto the scene, can they do it consistently? And Saka is showing that he can. We all want to see him go to the next level and the next level now and become really one of the world’s best.
“His position in the England team, there are so many key players in that position, so I am sure he will play a huge part this summer. Resilience, skill and work ethic. All these things have created this great player.”
Arsenal’s dark days
There have been some dark, dark days Arsenal fans have gone through over the years.
Those humiliating Champions League defeats, always losing the big games, especially away from home.
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Starting the season strong and then falling away towards the end. All these things would just repeat and repeat and repeat. All in a negative cycle.
But now Arsenal are a different animal, as they proved during their win over Manchester United. They are resilient and have the best defence in the league. Only 28 goals conceded after 37 matches. The next best is Manchester City with 33 conceded from 36.
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