Mikel Arteta feels Bukayo Saka fully merited a night to remember as he marked the end of his 101-day absence by scoring the winner to beat Fulham 2-1.
The winger nodded home a great Gabriel Martinelli flick within seven minutes of coming off the bench to put us 2-0 ahead against the Cottagers, and put three months of hard graft and rehab behind him during a difficult period for the winger.
The boss was thrilled with his contribution and is delighted to have him back in the fold, especially as he challenged Bukayo to hit the ground running with us still fighting for Premier League points and dreaming of further progress in the Champions League in the season’s final straight.
Reflecting on Bukayo’s return, Mikel said: “It was a beautiful reaction from our people to show him that love, respect and admiration and he fully deserves. His reaction straight away after scoring was to say thank you to all the sports scientists, physios and everyone who has participated in his recovery. It tells you who he is as a person, so it’s impossible not to love him.
“He’s trained with us for the last nine days, and he’s been impressive straight away. The problem that we put for him was very demanding by respecting the timeframes because we knew that the moment that we throw him in, he needs to be ready because it’s the most important part of the season, so, I’m really pleased with that.”
Bukayo wasn’t the only player in for some praise from his manager. After bagging yet another crucial goal, Mikel Merino was lauded by his fellow countryman for continuing to excel in an unusual position, while more of our forwards were acknowledged.
Mikel admits the win came at a cost with Gabriel being forced off early with a muscle injury and Jurrien Timber playing through the pain barrier after picking up an issue not long after, but for now he’s focusing on the positives that three points have brought.
“[Merino] was playing in a new position today, he’s playing in two different positions,” said Arteta. “He’s an intelligent, committed player who has a lot of qualities that you recognise, and others you probably don’t from the outside.
“Some big performances today. Ethan had really good moments, Martinelli was superb as well. His aggression, his determination to create a lot of issues for the defensive line. Overall, I’m very happy.
“It’s a long time without being together. They’ve all been coached differently and in different environments and to play the way we played, with that aggression, that commitment, that quality at times, and be so dominant was very impressive.
“Being very strong at home gives you that confidence for the remaining part of the season, that we can do it. The downside to today is the uncertainty on the physical condition of Gabi and Jurrien, but tomorrow we can assess that.”
