‘Beautiful’ Bukayo Saka moment had Mikel Arteta raving about star’s Arsenal injury return against Fulham

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Arsenal returned to Premier League action with a 2-1 victory over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

Gabriel Magalhaes went off with a hamstring injury in another sickening blow to Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of their Champions League tie with Real Madrid.

Mikel Merino was on the score sheet once again for the Gunners as he gave Arsenal a first half lead with a deflected strike from an Ethan Nwaneri cross.

The moment many fans had been waiting then occurred in the second half as Bukayo Saka made an instant impact on his return from injury converted a header at the back post from an exquisite flick from Gabriel Martinelli.

READ MORE: Bukayo Saka’s celebration and Mikel Arteta’s reaction to Gabriel Magalhaes injury – five things you missed from Arsenal v Fulham

Mikel Arteta gives Bukayo Saka verdict on Arsenal return

Speaking at his post match press conference following Arsenal’s win over Fulham, Arteta has given his verdict on the returning hero Saka.

Arteta stated: “A night of beautiful momentum to see how much our people love and respect Bukayo. The best result is the reaction and he goes and says thank you to the sports science guys.”

The Gunners boss was then asked how the winger reacted physically to his return to action and Arteta shared a positive update.

Arteta explained: “Yeah he was very positive. The first one is always going to be, How am I going to feel?” The worry for Arsenal now is the severity of the injuries picked up by Gabriel and Jurrien Timber.

Saka ran to Arsenal medical staff in goal celebration

Saka has had a long road to recovery since his hamstring injury in December 2024 against Crystal Palace and he showed his gratitude towards the staff that helped him on his road to recovery.

After scoring what proved to be the decisive goal, the Hale End graduate ran over to the Arsenal Medical team to show his appreciation in guiding him through his rehabilitation.

The main target was Sam Wilson, Arsenal’s lead physical performance coach and was greeted with a high five and smile from the goal scorer.

Saka is back for the Gunners and all eyes will now be on how he recovers from his first 25 minutes of action ahead of the impending Real Madrid clash.