Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka gave Mikel Arteta a very pleasant surprise on Friday night at Arsenal. Both have shown to be crucial to the Gunners’ success in the 2023–24 campaign. They are now in third place going into the international break, one point behind Manchester City and Liverpool in terms of goals scored.
Although Arsenal had defeated Sevilla and Burnley going into the two-week break, Arteta had some drawbacks. Club captain Martin Odegaard was absent from both matches, and Ben White’s unexpected absence from the 3-1 victory over Burnley was noted.
Both Saka and Gabriel Martinelli abandoned the games due to concerns about their injuries, although they have since joined up with Brazil and England, respectively. Martinelli was destined for a starting role in a World Cup qualifying match against Colombia given his impressive training results and the attacking midfield injury crisis that Brazil is currently dealing with.
Martinelli gave his country the lead in just four minutes with a deft finish off a ball from Vinicius Jr. But in the last 15 minutes, Luiz Diaz scored twice to give Colombia the victory. Saka was left off the pitch for the European Championship qualifier against Malta, contrary to rumours that Gareth Southgate would start him high in the lineup.
Harry Kane was surrounded by Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden as part of a front three, with Saka substituting for him in the last half-hour. Given the 22-year-old’s number of minutes played for the Gunners thus far this season, Arteta will undoubtedly be grateful that he stayed on the bench for the full 60 minutes, during which Rice unexpectedly joined him.
Prior to the match, it appeared inevitable that the 24-year-old would anchor the midfield; his partner Kalvin Phillips was doubtful, and Jude Bellingham and James Maddison were sidelined due to injuries. Jordan Henderson, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher at his side, was the most experienced starter, though.
Although Rice entered the game within the same window as Saka for substitutions, his value to Arteta is evident from his playing time this campaign, so a half-hour break is still a nice addition. Next Monday, the Three Lions play in North Macedonia, where the Arsenal pair might start. However, since qualifying is assured, Southgate may choose to change up his starting lineup.
Even though they were only on the pitch for thirty minutes, Rice and Saka appeared to have contributed to goals. Rice went on a furious run and finished beautifully just sixty seconds after Saka found Kane in the area to score England’s second. However, the goal was disallowed because Kane was judged to be offside and to have blocked the goalkeeper’s view.
All in all, though, it will have been remembered as a tremendously successful evening, if mostly for Arteta, who was able to observe quietly as two of his best players received a brief respite.