Bukayo Saka responds as UEFA denies Arsenal star from completing major milestone vs Monaco

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It was almost a perfect night for Bukayo Saka and Arsenal as they managed to overcome the challenge of AS Monaco in the Champions League.

The Gunners opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark, where Myles Lewis-Skelly set up Gabriel Martinelli, who slid in a simple tap-in for Saka.

It could and perhaps should’ve been a bigger scoreline for the home side at the Emirates Stadium, but it continued to stay tense after the break.

Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, after some tactical substitutions, the match swung further in Arsenal’s favour as Saka netted his second.

The England international thought he had scored another, but there was a twist in store for him late in the game.

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UEFA denies Bukayo Saka a first Arsenal hat-trick

While his career has been littered full of broken records, goals, assists and impressive performances, one thing has eluded Saka so far.

That’s a hat-trick for Arsenal, something he has managed on international duty with England but not with his club.

After scoring the opening two in the match against Monaco, the forward thought he had added an extra goal to his name to complete that major milestone of a first Arsenal hat-trick.

At first, it seemed as though Kai Havertz got the telling touch, with a small flick off of him and onto former West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer before going into the back of the net.

While it seemed as though the German striker had picked up another goal, UEFA later awarded the finish to Kehrer as an own goal.

It denied Saka from completing that first Arsenal hat-trick, though the forward seemed adamant that it is coming soon.

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Bukayo Saka responds to missing out on Arsenal hat-trick

Speaking after the game, Saka claimed that Havertz took the goal off of him, but seemed in high spirits about bagging three in one game soon.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “Yeah, he [Havertz] just about [got a touch for the goal]. He got in the way of it but don’t worry, it’s coming [a hat-trick], it’s on the way.”

It comes as a small blow for the 23-year-old, who is still searching for that first hat-trick for the club.

However, with some impressive performances and an upturn in output, it’s clear that it’s only a matter of when, and not if, the star will score those three in one game.