The Arsenal teenager proved he can influence a game from the right-hand side in the 1-1 draw with Leicester City
Mikel Arteta deployed Bukayo Saka from the right-hand side once again against Leicester City and his decision was vindicated
It was what every fan wanted to see - Bukayo Saka in an Arsenal shirt with a pen in his hand, committing his future to the club.
The teenager has played 35 times for the Gunners this season, almost exclusively on the left-hand side. But Mikel Arteta is never afraid to experiment with systems and tactical ideas, and named Saka on Arsenal's right-hand side against Leicester City on Tuesday, a mere three days after the teenager notched a goal from the same position.
There are obvious pros and cons of such a move. Saka is naturally a left-footed player and switching him to the right could ruin the balance of the team. That certainly wasn’t what happened in the first half against Leicester, however, with Saka a constant threat.
It started a few minutes in when Kieran Tierney found Saka with a deep cross, but the England youth international was unable to get the ball under control, and it squirmed away.
What stood out quickly was Saka’s willingness to run in behind. In the 16th minute he snuck behind the Leicester defence, but Alexandre Lacazette was unable to find him with a pass.
Then in the 21st minute, he made a similar run in behind Çağlar Söyüncü and was this time able to connect with Dani Ceballos’ pass. Tasked with getting past Jonny Evans, he sat the former Manchester United defender down before calmly squaring it for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score.
Arteta could be forgiven for feeling smug. His tweak had produced an early assist, and Saka almost had a goal to his name, but Aubameyang was unable to return the favour in the 25th minute. Saka remained a creative force when he found Lacazette inside the penalty area, with the chance underpinning the fact that Saka was involved in almost everything positive the Gunners did during the opening 45 minutes.
Arsenal pair Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka following the opening goal against Leicester City.
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Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has more goal contributions for Arsenal this season than Saka. What made the teenager such a threat was his willingness to exploit the space in behind Leicester’s wing-back. A study of his heatmap shows the winger consistently in the half-space, and it was from that position he caused the Foxes so many problems.
Unfortunately, he failed to carry that momentum into the second half. He completed just one pass after the break and only attempted four in total (source: Statszone) before he was substituted in the 71st minute for Joe Willock.
It would be easy to criticise the youngster, but this kind of sharp contrast is part of the territory with a young player. That is where Arteta will have to extract consistency from him in the long run. As for his future on the right-hand side, there is no issue with having a versatile attacker. The Gunners boast a variety of players that can change a game in the final third including Lacazette, Aubameyang, Saka, Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli.
Accommodating all of them in one team could be difficult, which strengthens the need for versatility as it facilitates a variety of combinations. With all that said, it would not be a surprise to see Arteta persist with his experiment of Saka on the right. The early indications have been positive from playing him on the right, although realistically it is hard to imagine him moving across long-term. After all, he is best suited to the left-hand side, and given Martinelli is right-footed, it may be the Brazilian that inhabits that space in the long-term, even if Saka has shown an ability to influence a game from the right.
