Why rebuilding Arsenal around Bukayo Saka has been Mikel Arteta's top move
When Arsenal played out their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Wednesday, the biggest cheer of the night came not for either of the hosts' goals but when Bukayo Saka emerged from the substitutes' bench.
To Arsenal supporters that evening, the result was secondary to witnessing the man who carries their hopes of silverware appear unscathed having suffered an injury scare against Ipswich Town three days earlier.
That Arsenal are in the Champions League semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain and within touching distance of the European glory that has largely eluded the club is in no small part down to Saka. It is fitting that he is the sole survivor from the wreckage of their most recent European final in the Europa League six years ago against Chelsea, when he was an unused substitute wearing No87.
Arsenal were in the doldrums then. Having missed out on qualification for the Champions League after finishing fifth in the league, they needed to win but were blown away by Eden Hazard in a 4-1 hammering.
Understandably, the mood was sombre on the six-hour journey back from Baku. To rub salt into their wounds, Chelsea had already qualified for Europe's elite competition and their preparations had been disrupted by their under-fire head coach Maurizio Sarri storming out of training on the eve of the game.
'It was maybe the worst flight I ever had, nobody was talking,' reflected Alexandre Lacazette, the former Arsenal forward.
The one glimmer of hope was Saka, who was given his first Premier League start at the beginning of the next season by Unai Emery. When Emery was sacked in November 2019 after a deterioration in results, one of the first things head coach Mikel Arteta did was to identify Saka's technical gifts, football intelligence and personality as crucial in his attempt to transform the culture at Arsenal.
Upon taking charge in December 2019, Arteta presented the club's hierarchy with a blueprint for how to make Arsenal consistently successful, which contained five phases. He has never shed light on the exact details of this plan but revealed that Arsenal were in phase three in March 2023, when they first challenged for the Premier League title.
Last month, he said the club were approaching the final phase. 'We are in phase four to five, establishing yourself at the highest level in the Champions League,' Arteta said. 'Consistently performing with a DNA that is very clear, with a lot of unity throughout the club and being very close to touching big trophies.'
The journey has not been smooth. Months after lifting the FA Cup in August 2020 at an empty Wembley Stadium during the pandemic, Arteta's job was under serious threat.
Arsenal went into a tricky London derby against Chelsea lying 15th on the back of a run of seven league games without a win. Arteta was grateful to Saka for scoring the third goal in a 3-1 victory on Boxing Day that strengthened his position.
The following month, he felt emboldened enough to terminate the contracts of Mesut Özil, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Deadwood was to be offloaded at any cost. While these departures did not immediately improve the club's fortunes on the pitch, Arteta was backed in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal's net spend under Arteta has been £460million as they have cut their losses on highly paid, underperforming players and brought in the likes of Declan Rice for £100million and Kai Havertz for £60million.
The steady improvement has resulted in Arsenal re-establishing themselves as Champions League regulars. After they were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season, they have looked better equipped to deal with Europe's top teams.
By cutting out the costly mistakes, Arsenal conceded only three goals in the group stage and six in all during the competition. David Raya, the goalkeeper, has been in fine form in the competition. He has faced shots worth 10.4 expected goals on target (xGOT), meaning he has conceded 4.4 goals fewer than the average goalkeeper would have when tested with those shots.
They finished behind only Liverpool and Barcelona in the 36-team group phase, losing only to Inter Milan, who have also reached the last four, and in the knockout phase have benefited from resounding first-legs wins against PSV Eindhoven (7-1 away) and Real Madrid (3-0 at home). Only Inter have been behind for a lower percentage of minutes (1 per cent) than Arsenal (6 per cent).
Saka's return from a hamstring injury in time to face Real in the quarter-finals was vital and, despite missing a penalty, his delicate chip killed off Real's hopes of a comeback in the second leg. It feels that with Saka fit and firing against PSG, Arsenal have every chance of reaching their first Champions League final since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in 2006.
One notable statistic from Madrid was that Rice and Thomas Partey misplaced only one pass between them in the second leg. With Partey suspended, after picking up a yellow card, will Arteta be more cautious in midfield and move Mikel Merino from his recent role as a makeshift striker?
The next week could provide another pivotal moment for Arteta. Reaching the final in Munich would be worth at least another £16million on top of the £100million they have already earned from the competition this season. The status of European champions would only help to attract more elite targets to try to win the domestic crown. Arsenal are in pole position to sign Martín Zubimendi, the Spain midfielder, from Real Sociedad for £51million, and have taken an interest in Joan García, the Espanyol goalkeeper, Nico Williams, the Athletic Bilbao winger, and Benjamin Sesko, the RB Leipzig forward.
It would also go some way to redressing Arsenal's position as great underachievers in Europe. Not since the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994 have they tasted continental success and since Arsenal reached the Champions League final 19 years ago, Chelsea have won it twice in 2012 and 2021 with Tottenham Hotspur runners-up in 2019.
'I'm an optimist and I believe I will win it and the sooner, the better,' Arsène Wenger said, the last time Arsenal reached this stage in 2009. They lost 4-1 on aggregate to Manchester United and the Frenchman never fulfilled his ultimate ambition.
Arteta now has the mantle and can take a significant step towards turning the club's dream into reality over the next eight days, helped by Saka, now a superstar, who has five goals in seven matches in the competition this season.
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