Bukayo Saka shares one demand he set in dressing room before PSG, and Arsenal teammates took note

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Arsenal are still without injured captain Martin Odegaard, but they continued their unbeaten start to the season with a strong performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side beat PSG 2-0 in a comfortable victory at the Emirates Stadium, with Kai Havertz heading in a superb opener before Bukayo Saka scored a surprising free-kick to double the lead.

In the absence of Odegaard, Saka wore the captain’s armband and led his team to victory against a tough European opponent to give Arsenal their first win in the Champions League this season.

It was another excellent display from Saka, and one which showed that despite his young age, the 23-year-old is one of the key leaders within the Arsenal squad.

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Bukayo Saka issued demand to Arsenal teammates before PSG victory

Speaking to CBS Sports after the victory over PSG, Saka revealed that when giving the team talk before the match, he called upon his teammates to improve their recent European record against tougher sides.

“It’s a question I’ve been thinking about myself, and when I was speaking with the boys in the team talk before the game, I made sure I said ‘today we need to make a big statement,'” Saka stated.

“When we’ve played in Europe against the big teams, I don’t think we’ve shown our full quality and the full standards that we show. At home we showed that today, but we do need to do that away.”

Arsenal need to improve Champions League record against tougher sides

Under Arteta, Arsenal have won just one Champions League away game, with a 2-1 victory away at Sevilla a year ago.

Arsenal have been strong at home when favourites, with convincing victories over RC Lens and PSV Eindhoven, but against tougher opposition, they came unstuck at times against Porto and Bayern Munich last season.

The victory over PSG was a step in the right direction, and Arsenal will hope that this gives them confidence ahead of a tough trip to Inter Milan later on in the league phase.

Saka’s words clearly impacted the Arsenal squad, as they delivered a professional performance to keep PSG at bay, whilst impressing in attack in an enjoyable night at the Emirates Stadium.