Kai Havertz had his best moment in an Arsenal shirt as he scored a late winner against Brentford yesterday, and he has now praised Bukayo Saka.
Havertz headed in from an excellent cross by Saka to hand Arsenal a 1-0 victory in what was a tough game, and this was his first goal from open play since joining the club.
The German, who recently played out of position for his country during the international break, was on the bench, but came on as a substitute, which turned out to be a masterstroke from Mikel Arteta.
Kai Havertz praises Bukayo Saka
Speaking after the victory, Havertz praised Saka for his role in the goal, which saw the England star deliver a perfect cross to the back post.
“These late winners are nice and then to celebrate in front of the fans it was a good feeling for sure,” Havertz stated.
“The cross was amazing and I thought maybe why not do this run and the ball was perfect and I scored.”
Bukayo Saka’s crossing ability
Saka’s cross to Havertz was a brilliant one, and it was yet another occasion where the 22-year-old stepped up for Arsenal in a crucial moment.
Saka dribbled onto his left foot before firing the speedy ball over the top to Havertz, in a cross reminiscent of his assist to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Benfica in the Europa League in 2021.
The Englishman had a fairly solid performance, but Brentford were playing in a deep block and were actively trying to restrict his creativity.
The winger had to be inventive to find a way to break down the stubborn defence, and he did exactly that by picking out Havertz’s run perfectly.
It was his fifth Premier League assist of the season, and his ninth in all competitions. Saka is now thriving creatively and is standing out as one of the best players in the world in his position.
He now has 15 goals and assists in 18 games in all competitions, with five of these coming in his first Champions League campaign.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank also praised Saka following yesterday’s game, claiming that he and Gabriel Martinelli are two of the best wingers in the Premier League.
There have been concerns over Saka’s fitness, given how little he is rotated, but he has shown that he is almost undroppable given his ability to produce moments of magic even when the team is struggling going forward.
Arsenal are now top of the league thanks to Havertz’s goal, and it would not have happened without Saka’s stunning cross.
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