SAKA CRACKER!
Moment of brilliance by Bukayo gets Gunners up and running
AS Bukayo Saka dropped a shoulder and Gabriel Martinelli whipped out a Cruyff turn, visions of last season — before April, mind — crossed the Emirates Stadium.
It was all in the space of six minutes. There are far more daunting tests to hurdle in the coming months — this is the season’s first game, after all — before an accurate reflection can be surmised as to how far Arsenal have bridged the gap to Manchester City.
But on this showing, the same aspect shone through from the previous campaign: moments of individual brilliance.
The Gunners were not at their best. The final 10 minutes gave a flavour of past insecurity and difficulties in handling extreme pressure.
When Taiwo Awoniyi’s strike surpassed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with eight minutes of regulation time left, following an almighty 50-yard dash from Anthony Elanga, worry rang across all corners.
Definitely so when Morgan GibbsWhite, in much space, shot over the bar just two minutes later.
But the two goals which sealed victory against a stubborn Nottingham Forest side were pieces of magic, which can only be manufactured by the league’s better players.
After 26 minutes, Martinelli was surrounded by Danilo and Serge Aurier. Instead of passing sideways or backwards, the Brazilian went through both with a Cruyff turn. The ball landed in Eddie Nketiah’s path, possibly by luck, and his strike beat ex-team-mate Matt Turner after a minor deflection off a defender.
That had deflated the away side after a resilient start, so Saka’s sublime goal, which saw the 21-year-old curl the ball into the topleft corner from outside the area, left them grounded. A kick to the groin, in many ways.
Yes, Mikel Arteta was left frustrated, waving his arms aloft, calling on his men to speed up play. But that’s because he knows how much his Arsenal team are capable of.
He said: ‘We were super dominant, we deserved to win the game. But when you are 2-0 up and have some chances to kill the game, we didn’t. Then we gave a sloppy goal away.
‘The team has done really well but we’re going to have to be more ruthless and more critical of ourselves to be more pushy and kill the game.’
Arteta singled out Nketiah for praise. ‘I’m delighted for him because he is a role model,’ he said.
‘He was a player who was so disappointed not to play the final in the absence of Gabi (Jesus).
‘What he did was he came on the field in the final and changed the game. That’s number one.
‘The second one was the way he was training this week, he was saying: “Gaffer, if you’re not playing me, you are blind”.
‘A lot of players come and say: “Oh why am I not playing” and you have to try to explain. Other players come and say: “These are the reasons why I deserve to play”.
‘This is exactly what Eddie does. This is exactly what he did and then he got on the pitch and he performs that way. He’s a clear and very good example to everybody.’
His main concern will be Jurrien Timber, who fell to the floor in discomfort minutes after the restart clutching near his knee and had to be replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu.
On the other side, the result left Forest manager Steve Cooper ruing a lack of belief shown by his team in challenges.
‘At half-time, I questioned ourselves at competing, and backing ourselves in duels,’ said Cooper. ‘What we didn’t do quite right was in the duels compete strong enough and show enough quality.’
Actions speak louder than words, with Arsenal’s actions this summer translating of a club who only have the No1 spot in mind.
The squad’s depth was reflected by quality players including Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior left on the bench, and Kieran Tierney not even making the squad.
The afternoon started in farce, a shambolic failure of Arsenal’s new digital ticketing system delaying the match with thousands of supporters stranded outside.
The e-ticket system had collapsed, leaving fans unable to scan their e-tickets on the turnstiles.
It was a dangerous lapse, and one that can’t be repeated. The game subsequently kicked-off 30 minutes late.
Forest’s only real chance of note in the first half arose on 12 minutes. It was the kind that must go in to stand a chance against the league’s better teams.
The ball ricocheted forward in open play, Brennan Johnson left one-on-one against Ramsdale.
Ramsdale sprinted off his line. Johnson, clearly overawed by the onrushing keeper, lobbed it over. A crucial, crucial chance.
There was little else for the away side in the first period — aside from rugged defending that kept Arsenal quiet.
But that magic in the space of six crucial minutes undid Forest and ultimately ensured a valuable victory for the Gunners.