Bukayo Saka started 2022 in brilliant fashion, as the Arsenal star opened the scoring against Manchester City with a brilliant team goal.
Saka scored in Arsenal’s final two games of 2021, against Newcastle United and Norwich City, and he continued that form on New Year’s Day.
Arsenal, who had been brilliant from kick off, started the move in their own half in the 30th minute of the match and moved the ball forward with some excellent passing.
The move was the kind of thing you expect City to do to their opponents but instead it was Arsenal cutting through the visitors with general ease.
The ball was then played into the box with Saka stroking it home, past Ederson, to give Mikel Arteta’s side the lead, even with the Arsenal manager at home due to Covid.
Bukayo S aka with a perfectly placed first-time shot 👌
AdvertisementArsenal made a great start against City and it’s their number seven who gets the goal! pic.twitter.com/OHWbeUBOOY
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 1, 2022
Bukayo Saka. What a finish.
Kicking off 2022 in style ✨ pic.twitter.com/B678uHvTT9
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 1, 2022
Bukayo Saka has scored more goals in 2022 than any other player in Europe.
Ballon d’Or incoming. 😜
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 1, 2022
Saka man. This yout makes me want to cry
— Lippy (@LickshotLippy) January 1, 2022
The build-up to that Saka goal is sensational. White’s aggressive positioning to win the ball back, neat interplay between Partey-Xhaka, Ødegaard dropping deep to link play, Tierney on the overlap & Saka’s smart movement. They’ve cut straight thru Man City’s defensive structure.
— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) January 1, 2022
Real testament to Saka’s character and how Arsenal supported him in how he came back from the Euros, particularly when set against the hangover many of his England peers seem to have experienced.
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) January 1, 2022
What a lovely goal that was from Saka. Joy to watch him play. Arsenal have been terrific so far.
— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) January 1, 2022
With City eight points clear of second place Chelsea ahead of the game, it seemed Pep Guardiola was in relaxed mood before kick off, wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
However the relaxed mood probably wouldn’t have lasted too long inside City’s technical area, as Arsenal were much the better team in the first 45 minutes.
They may have had a penalty as Martin Odegaard was brought down inside the area by Ederson, but the referee and VAR official decided that the keeper got enough on the ball in the challenge.
Even after the goal it was Arsenal who had the better chances, as Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in particular caused problems for City.
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport
