Alan Shearer believes Bukayo Saka’s performance for Arsenal against Liverpool showed just how much Mikel Arteta’s side have missed the Englishman.
An injury on international duty with England saw Saka miss Arsenal’s last two games against Bournemouth and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Up against Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday, however, the Gunners were handed a welcome boost when Saka returned to the starting XI.
And the 23-year-old provided a timely reminder of his quality, finding his third goal of the season in the opening stages with an emphatic finish past Caoimhin Kelleher and frequently troubling Andy Robertson at left-back.
Injuries and suspensions to key players have hampered Arsenal in recent weeks, and Shearer believes that Saka’s displays demonstrated one of the reasons why Arteta’s side haven’t been at their full-flowing best in his absence.
‘He’s an excellent player, I love his attitude,’ Shearer told Premier League Productions.
‘I think he’s missed the last two games before today and that’s the time in five years he’s missed back-to-back games which when you consider who he is and how many times he gets kicked you can’t help but just like his attitude and like everything about him.
‘He’s got great ability and it was a great goal.
‘That first half, in particular, showed how much he means to the Arsenal team and that they are not quite the same without him but that is understandable because he has got that much ability.’
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, meanwhile, was equally gushing about Saka’s remarkable levels of consistency since his first-team breakthrough.
‘He has been in the side since he was just 17 years old and that’s been not only for Arsenal but for England as well playing at a high standard,’ Wright said.
This is why I find it really unfair when people are constantly comparing him to other players who have done their stuff for 18 months and he has been doing it for coming on five years now.
‘He’s been consistent with what he’s doing and I am just pleased that he can come into a game like this at the levels like he has and just continue to show what he is capable of doing consistently.’
Saka, however, was left frustrated at full-time and said his team let Liverpool back into the game in the second half.
‘We’re a bit disappointed. Credit to Liverpool they are a great team but we just feel like we didn’t show our best selves for the full 90 minutes,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘First half we showed our qualities, we dominated and gave them nothing. They only scored from a set piece, I didn’t think they had another chance. Second half we sunk back a bit and weren’t at our best.
‘Liverpool started to have more momentum, they won more duels than us, kept possession more than us and then naturally the momentum goes to them and we have to defend more.’
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