Arsenal’s young star Bukayo Saka has joined the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler and Cesc Fabregas in an elite club after opening the scoring for the Gunners against Everton in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side came into the tie knowing that a win would take them five points clear atop the Premier League, but were facing a Sean Dyche side that had beaten them 1-0 at Goodison Park just over three weeks earlier, and had begun a mini-slump that saw them briefly drop to second behind Manchester City.
And during parts of the first half, it looked as though they may hit another roadblock in their title charge, with the Toffees setting up in a 4-5-1 system and frustrating the Gunners.
That was until Bukayo Saka stepped up. Latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Oleksandr Zinchenko, the 21-year-old fired home past compatriot Jordan Pickford from a tight angle to settle Arsenal nerves and set them on course to head five points clear at the top of the table.
In doing so, Saka notched up his fiftieth goal or assist in the English top flight, becoming the sixth-youngest to do so in the process.
And he joins elite company, with the list above him including former Gunner Cesc Fabregas and English striker quartet Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Chris Sutton and Wayne Rooney.
50 – Bukayo Saka has become the sixth-youngest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goals+assists in the competition, after Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler, Cesc Fàbregas and Chris Sutton. Jewel. pic.twitter.com/JFRVnK4BX8
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2023
Set to sign a new long term contract in north London imminently, Saka already has 163 Arsenal appearances to his name, and could well be on course to break plenty more records at the Emirates Stadium before his Arsenal career comes to an end.
