The Emirates erupted as Bukayo Saka returned to action after over 100 days away from the Arsenal squad.
Saka underwent surgery on his hamstring in December, seeing the winger ruled out of action for 19 games.
During Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham at the Emirates, Saka made his long-awaited return and received quite the reception.
Mikel Arteta took great pleasure in summoning the Englishman from the bench to hand him his first minutes of 2025.
Tom Cairney describes Bukayo Saka’s return moment at the Emirates
In the 66th minute, Saka was brought on against Fulham, getting 24 minutes under his belt and taking only seven minutes to return to the scoresheet.
It was a dream return for the winger even before he scored, as the ovation he received in the Emirates was quite spectacular.
Saka thanked fans for his welcome back to the pitch, a moment that even caught some Fulham players off guard.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Fulham captain Tom Cairney relived the moment that Saka returned, describing it as something he ‘hadn’t heard anything like’ before.
“I just went to warm up and I was stretching and I thought they’d scored. That was honestly how loud it was,” Cairney said.
“I hadn’t heard anything like it to be honest. So I knew Saka was obviously a fan favourite and a star boy who came through the system, but it was amazing to see to be honest and I’m happy for him as it was a bad, bad injury that he had.
“Hopefully rehab has gone right because you never know with hamstrings.”
It was a heartwarming account of the night from the Fulham icon, who recognised the hardships Saka had to overcome to return after hamstring surgery.
Saka’s injury record at Arsenal
Cairney acknowledged Saka’s recovery, sharing the same wishes to Arsenal fans far and wide, hoping that the 23-year-old’s hamstring woes don’t recur.
Seeing the Hale End graduate away from the action was painful, mainly due to how rare having Saka out of action has become.
| Season | Days out | Injuries | Games missed |
| 2024/25 | 122 | 3 | 23 |
| 2023/24 | 36 | 2 | 10 |
| 2021/22 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020/21 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| 2019/20 | 13 | 1 | 2 |
Since his breakthrough campaign in 2019/20, Saka has missed a total of 38 games, 23 of which have come this season.
The winger’s fitness and reliability make him one of Arteta’s most important players, with his return welcomed to reflect such.
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