Arteta hails ‘special’ Saka after Arsenal reach Champions League final

by · The Eagle Online

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres after the Gunners booked their place in the Champions League final with a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium.

The win sealed a 2-1 aggregate success for Arsenal and ended the club’s 20-year wait to return to Europe’s biggest club final.

Saka scored the decisive goal in the second leg after capitalising on a defensive mistake from Diego Simeone’s side.

Speaking after the match, Arteta described the England international as a key figure in the team.

He told Amazon Prime: “It had to be someone very special and certainly he is very special with me and the boys and everyone attached with this club.

“If it had to be someone scoring that goal, it probably had to be him.”

The Arsenal manager also revealed emotional conversations with some players left out of the starting line-up before the semi-final clash.

Arteta said he apologised to members of the squad after deciding to keep the same team for the second leg.

He said: “It was very difficult to make certain decisions and I feel a lot for the boys.

Also Read

“I know generally how good people they are and some of them, I talked to them this afternoon and apologised and said ‘I’m going to play the same team’ and the reaction immediately was ‘boss, I’m here when you need me’ and they gave me a hug.”

Arteta also singled out Gyokeres for his contribution against the Spanish side, despite the striker not getting on the scoresheet.

The Arsenal boss praised the Sweden international’s work rate and influence without the ball.

“He was immense,” Arteta noted.

“You can see the reaction from the crowd every time he had the ball, his work rate and what he’s giving the team is just incredible.

“You talk about Gyokeres and he’s the first one to set the tone, the rhythm, and the habits that he shows when we don’t have it [the ball] and that’s a team effort.”

Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp

[wpadcenter_ad id='745970' align='none']