The Arsenal teenager starred as the Gunners beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley
Were you seeing Gareth Southgate?
The England manager was not at Wembley to see Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield, but had he been, he might as well have left the home of English football thinking he had made a big mistake by leaving Bukayo Saka out of his last team. .
The Arsenal teenager, who has yet to receive a senior call-up for the Three Lions, was magnificent as Mikel Arteta’s somewhat improvised squad knocked out the Premier League champions 5-4 on shots from the spot after a draw. 1-1.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could have scored the Arsenal goal in magnificent style, landing a double over Alisson after just 12 minutes.
But it was Saka’s brilliant pass that set up Aubameyang’s attack, and that was just one of the youngster’s excellent playing pieces who picked up exactly where he left off last season.
He may have gotten tired in the second half, which is not surprising given that Arsenal have been back together for less than a week and only managed two full training sessions before their encounter with Jurgen Klopp’s team, but it was still a performance to make up for his omission. Southgate’s squad even more puzzling.
The 18-year-old played on the right side of the attack against Liverpool, but most of his good performances last season were as a left back. And since Southgate did not name a left-back to his squad to face Iceland and Denmark in the Nations League next week, leaving Saka out was even more surprising.
The England manager was questioned about Saka’s absence and suggested it’s because he doesn’t see him as a defensive option, but he showed last season that he’s more than capable of playing that role.
“I feel like he’s more of an attacking player,” Southgate said. “I know he has played as a left back and has certainly made good contributions there in an offensive sense.
“Right now, left back, left back higher up the field, I know he has played in the center of the field and also on the right, but that would be his best positions.
“Saka had a very good season with Arsenal, he was not in the team at the end, but it was a very good season of progress and he is a player who watches very closely.”
And if that’s the case, then Southgate would have seen Saka being the driving force in an excellent Arsenal performance in the first half at Wembley, one that saw them deservedly lead at halftime.
His cross pass prepared Aubameyang for a fabulous opening goal, which began at the feet of Emiliano MartĂnez and ended with the Gabon international firing an unstoppable shot over the plunging Alisson after a marvelous team play.
Since the start of last season, Kevin De Bruyne (22) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (15) are the only Premier League players to have more assists in all competitions than Saka.
The academy product was at the heart of another good play that may have seen Eddie Nketiah double the lead soon after, only for Alisson to deny him with a sharp stop to his left.
Despite dominating possession, Liverpool didn’t even get a shot on goal in the first half, and it wasn’t until Arsenal began to tire in the second half that the champions started causing trouble alongside Arteta.
But every time they saw the goal, Emiliano MartĂnez was there to deny them, saving twice to avoid Sadio Mane’s efforts. The Argentine, linked to an estrangement in recent days, again demonstrated why there are so many who believe that the new season should begin as number one in North London.
Eventually, he was beaten by Takumi Minamino’s close-range shot with 17 minutes remaining, but it was another striking display from the goalkeeper just two weeks before the first game of the season in Fulham.
Martinez couldn’t save any of the penalties on the penalty shoot-out, but he didn’t need to, as Rhian Brewster’s failure was enough to give Arsenal victory and give them a huge confidence boost ahead of next season.
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