Declan Rice quickly emphasized the importance of Bukayo Saka after the winger scored a timely goal on his return of an injury in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Fulham in the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Saka, who had set offside for three months with a hamstring injury, appeared for the first time since December last year and came out of the bank halfway through the second half to replace Ethan Nwaneri.
His return caused an immediate lift, because Mikel Merino had put Arsenal forward in the 37th minute with a bent strike before Saka put them firmly in the driver's seat and nodded in the film by Gabriel Martinelli to double the lead.
The 68th goal of Saka for Arsenal in all competitions was his first as a replacement, who rises six minutes and 36 seconds after the rise.
Although Rodrigo Muniz withdrew one for Fulham deep in the stopping time, the result had long been decided.
The introduction of Saka was confronted with a thunderous ovation of both the Emirates and his teammates.
Declan Rice, who spoke with Sky Sports, emphasized how essential the 22-year-old is for Arsenal's attack.
“The reception speaks for itself. That is why he is one of the best wing players in the world because he attacks the box and sniffs the goal,” Rice said.
“You take them, he is in the right position at the right time and has a great evening for him and for us.”
Back-to-back victories in n5 pic.twitter.com/oywhmsy8oo
– Arsenal (@ARSENAL) April 1, 2025
The midfielder also emphasized the influence of Saka on the flowing arrangement of Arsenal.
“He gives us an outlet,” Rice added. “All our front players are so different and rotate so well.
“[Gabriel] Martinelli was incredible tonight, real outlet for us and did well for the goal of Bukayo. With Bukayo back it is a real boost. “
But for all the positive points of Saka's return, Mikel Arteta got a new blow when Gabriel Magalhaes was enforced early with a hamstring injury, which contributed to the growing defensive crisis of Arsenal.
Gabriel's injury makes an already terrible situation for Arteta, which means that he has only three fit center backs for two of Arsenal's largest matches of the season-a quarter-final showdown from Champions League against Real Madrid.
With Liverpool with a comfortable nine points lead at the top of the league table, Arsenal's best hope for silverware can now rest in Europe, where they appear their first semifinal since 2009.
Rice acknowledged the challenge, but insisted that Arsenal will continue to push the Premier League: “We know that we are behind them in the competition. We can only determine what we can do, and that is to win our eight games.”
“We have stored one too often this season, we will continue to look them up and continue to put pressure – that is all we can do.”
Just fall short against the second.
– Fulham Football Club (@Fulhamfc) April 1, 2025
As far as Fulham is concerned, they have now lost consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since January 2024 (a run of five), while they have lost three of their last five games in the competition (W2), one more than their previous 13 outings (W5 D6).
It worsened a few tough few days before the Cottagers, who were also beaten by Crystal Palace from the FA Cup in the quarterfinals, but Marco Silva insisted that this was not an excuse for Tuesday's result.
“Something that was done last Saturday, and we must continue,” he told BBC Motd. “It is not an excuse; what we showed then was that, and we have to show different things.
“Arsenal [were] Much fresher than we at times. We have tried fresh legs and are aggressive. Second half, better than first, more opportunities. Our first half – not good.
“Premier League does not allow you to switch off or let yourself be sloppy in times when you attack or defend. It is clear that we must be consistent.”
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