{"id":329867,"date":"2025-12-04T11:30:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329867\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T11:30:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:30:13","slug":"three-things-we-learned-from-arsenal-fc-win-as-mikel-arteta-changes-his-bukayo-saka-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/329867\/","title":{"rendered":"Three things we learned from Arsenal FC win as Mikel Arteta changes his Bukayo Saka stance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arsenal<\/p>\n

Arsenal<\/a> restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a victory over Brentford.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta\u2019s side were worthy winners, although Brentford improved in the second half and the game was not killed off until Saka\u2019s late goal.<\/p>\n

The win means Arsenal are now, once again, five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Simon Collings was at Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal in action\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mikel Merino<\/p>\n

REUTERS<\/p>\n

Merino gives Arteta a headache<\/p>\n

The cavalry have arrived for Arsenal in attack – but Merino is showing that he will not give up his place in the team without a fight.<\/p>\n

Just like last season, the Spaniard is excelling as a No9 and this was another fine performance from him.<\/p>\n

Merino scored the opening goal of the game and he was involved in the second, setting up Saka to seal the win.<\/p>\n

Merino has started the last six games as Arsenal\u2019s striker and in that time he has scored four goals and chipped in with three assists.<\/p>\n

The Gunners\u2019 attack, as a whole, has performed well, too. They have scored 15 goals, with 13 of those from open play.<\/p>\n

It is why Arteta has a headache going into Saturday\u2019s trip to Aston Villa. Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres are both back fit, with the latter coming off the bench for the second game in a row.<\/p>\n

But how does Arteta drop Merino right now?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bukayo Saka<\/p>\n

Arsenal FC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Saka off the bench, but on the mark<\/p>\n

No player has featured more for Arsenal during Arteta\u2019s time at the club than Saka.<\/p>\n

Across six years at the club, and various different teams, Saka has always been a constant and integral player.<\/p>\n

Arteta has historically been reluctant to rest him, famously saying in 2022 how \u201cthe top players in the world, they play 70 matches\u201d.<\/p>\n

That stance, however, appears to be softening and Saka was named on the bench for this clash.<\/p>\n

Watching the way Ben White and Noni Madueke combined on Arsenal\u2019s right flank, it was no surprise that Arteta felt comfortable to start them and rest Saka.<\/p>\n

The pair were electric in the opening stages and the Gunners’ opening goal came via them. Madueke\u2019s backheel set White free down the right and it was his cross that Merino headed home.<\/p>\n

Saka, though, showed the value of having him on the bench as he sealed the win late on.<\/p>\n

Merino\u2019s pass from deep found the winger and, despite the best efforts of Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, the ball found its way over the line.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Declan Rice<\/p>\n

Action Images via Reuters<\/p>\n

Arsenal have been dogged by injuries all season – and their fitness woes show no signs of easing.<\/p>\n

Mosquera appeared to jar his left knee or ankle when competing with Brentford striker Kevin Schade for a header. Rice\u2019s problem was related to his calf.<\/p>\n

Mosquera went down and received treatment on the pitch, before coming off for Jurrien Timber.<\/p>\n

Timber, who has played at right-back all season, was forced to come on in the heart of Arsenal\u2019s defence because of injuries there.<\/p>\n

Going into this game, Arsenal were already without Gabriel and William Saliba – although the latter could be back for Saturday\u2019s trip to Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

Arteta will hope Rice and Mosquera\u2019s injuries are not serious, as Arsenal\u2019s squad has been stretched at points this season, even with their depth.<\/p>\n

Last month, Arsenal were short on strikers as Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres were all injured.<\/p>\n

Now, their problems are at the other end of the pitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a victory over Brentford. Mikel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[53621,27190,146822,403,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-329867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-bukayo-saka","9":"tag-declan-rice","10":"tag-mikel-merino","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}