Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka impressed against Manchester City, despite only playing the first half.
It was a tough afternoon for Saka, whose day went from 100 to zero as after captaining Arsenal at the Etihad, he was withdrawn prematurely at the interval.
Mikel Arteta was left with limited options at half time as a result of Leandro Trossard’s red card against City, resulting in the manager hooking Saka to send on Ben White to bolster the defence.
The winger was given a short window to impress in the crucial fixture, which he managed to do, seeing him earn high praise.
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker in agreement about Bukayo Saka after Man City draw
Before being hooked, Saka made his mark on the game by producing an assist for Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal that gave Arsenal the lead before the interval.
The Englishman produced a carbon copy of the delivery he provided Gabriel with the week prior at Spurs, seeing Arsenal’s set piece supremacy come into play again.
As expected, Saka’s work to craft the chance for Gabriel to score generated attention, with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer full of admiration for the winger’s consistency from corners.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Saka was branded ‘unbelievable’ by Shearer for the work he does to produce consistently superb crosses from dead ball situations.
Shearer said, “There are so many things that have to fall into place to make the perfect set piece. First of all you’ve got to get the ball on the money.”
Lineker was quick to credit Saka for Arsenal’s success from corners, saying, “he [Saka] does that so consistently, doesn’t he?”
“Unbelievable,” Shearer responded, referring to the quality that the England international provides at the corner flag.
Arsenal have the perfect balance in set pieces
It was another game and another goal from a corner for Arsenal, with Gabriel being assisted by Saka on the road for the second week running.
Shearer’s praise of the Gunners’ set piece structure extended beyond applauding Saka’s delivery, as he pinpointed all of the elements that go into scoring from a corner.
- READ MORE: Bukayo Saka just achieved one impressive feat that only Thierry Henry ever managed at Arsenal
“The movement, then the desire, then the blocking, all of those things have got to happen within 2-3 seconds,” Shearer explained.
“To get it right and to be as great as they [Arsenal] are at set pieces is just incredible, they’re magnificent.”
Arteta has a lot to thank Nicolas Jover for in North London, with the Gunners proving to be near-impossible to stop from set plays in the Premier League.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
