Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed Bukayo Saka’s performance after the winger netted the Premier League title aspirants’ second goal in their 2-0 win over Wolves.
The Gunners are looking to end a 21-year wait for the title, having finished second to Manchester City in each of the last two seasons, missing out by two points in May despite winning 16 of their final 18 games.
And they got off to an ideal start in north London against Gary O’Neil’s side when Kai Havertz dashed towards the six-yard box to meet Saka’s cross in the 25th minute, squeezing between goalkeeper Jose Sa and defender Yerson Mosquera and heading his side into a deserved lead following early pressure.
At that stage, they might already have led after Saka, Ben White and Declan Rice had all had sights of goal, a combination of good goalkeeping and wayward finishing keeping Wolves in the game before Havertz struck.
David Raya saved brilliantly from Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header to preserve the lead and Matheus Cunha missed a golden chance from a William Saliba error before Saka settled nerves around the Emirates when he lashed in at Sa’s near post 16 minutes from time, allowing Arteta to celebrate a deserved win.
“First half we were really good,” he said. “Really aggressive, really intense. A lot of purpose to our attack. A lot of threats in the box.
“We generated a lot. We probably should have scored two or three. We became a bit sloppy in the second half, we had some giveaways, and then the game was a bit more open. Bukayo had an unbelievable action to score the 2-0.
“What I see is the willingness. We started well in the first game. In the first game, you are uncertain about how you will respond against a difficult opponent. Score two, clean sheet, win.”
More than once throughout the game Saka was allowed space to cut inside from the right onto his left foot, most notably in crossing for Havertz’s goal and then in firing in himself to score the second late on.
Arteta was asked whether he was surprised teams continue to allow the England winger space to come in from the flank to such devastating effect.
“With good players, it’s like that,” he said. “With (Lionel) Messi, I know he’s going to come in and do that, but you can’t stop him.”
The game was notable for fine individual displays from Rice, Saka and Raya just 34 days after the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain in which all three were involved.
“I’m not surprised (at their performances),” said Arteta. “That was their mentality straight away after the last game, they said I’m going to be ready for the first game.
“They wanted to come and be here early. If players are doing that, the compromise will grow around the team, and it will step up the level.”
Wolves boss O’Neil reflected on a game in which he felt his side retained a ready threat until finally succumbing to the second goal.
“Good game I thought,” he said. “I thought we played a huge part in it. We acquitted ourselves well against a very tough test.
“At 1-0, we were right in the game, we had some really good territory, kept Arsenal pinned back for a while and created a couple chances in that moment.”
Liverpool, Arsenal, and Aston Villa among those with wins in the Premier League today ✅
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 17, 2024
Two more fixtures tomorrow, including the big one at Stamford Bridge 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Dd9xRZApfO
