Garth Crooks has lauded England international Bukayo Saka for the quality of his goal in Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Leeds United on Sunday, with the strike keeping the Gunners top of the Premier League table.
Writing for BBC Sport, the pundit was full of praise for the England international as Saka scored the only goal of the match as Arsenal claimed three points at Elland Road in a fixture where Mikel Arteta’s side were lucky to come out of with the win.
Patrick Bamford missed a penalty in the second half as VAR also saved Arsenal in the dying seconds of the match as a Gabriel Magalhaes red card and a second spot-kick were both ruled out, with the result taking the Gunners four points clear at the top of the table.
As for Saka, the goal continued the winger’s impressive scoring streak, with the winger now bagging four goals in his last three matches as the attacker played huge roles in Arsenal’s wins against Liverpool and Bodo/Glimt in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Indeed, Saka’s goal against Leeds could be one of the most important strikes the winger pulls off this season, and for Crooks, the pundit was amazed by the quality of the finish given the tight angle of the shot and the accuracy the Arsenal star had to pull off to beat Illan Meslier.
Crooks said when writing about Saka’s performance against Leeds and the attacker’s form in recent weeks: “Four goals in the last three games for Saka. His goal against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League in midweek was impressive but his finish in the win over Leeds was outrageous.”
Arsenal survived a Leeds performance that in many previous seasons would have seen the Gunners end up drawing the match or even losing, yet the north Londoners held on, and Saka’s goal could, in the long term, prove to be one of the club’s most important moments this campaign.
With Arsenal top after ten games, there is reason to believe that Arteta can do something quite spectacular this season, and if the Gunners can continue these sort of gritty performances away on the road, UEFA Champions League qualification will be achieved with relative ease.