While the injury to Martin Odegaard certainly took the shine off things, it was a brilliant weekend for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners completely outplayed West Ham United, beating them 2-0 in what was the manager’s 300th game in charge, and with Liverpool losing on Sunday, they now sit atop the Premier League table.
However, it wasn’t just a milestone match for the boss, as Bukayo Saka also made his 200th league appearance against the Hammers, in which he produced his 100th league goal involvement.
The Hale Ender has been the face of Arsenal for some years now, and while he rightly got plenty of plaudits at full-time, it was another strong showing from one of his teammates, someone who has a claim to being one of the best signings of the Emirates era.
Saka's 200 Premier League games
Saka made his Arsenal debut under former manager Unai Emery in November 2018, coming on as a substitute in a game away to Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava. He then made his full debut for the club a few months later at home against Qarabağ.
However, his first Premier League appearance came on New Year’s Day 2019, when he came off the bench against Fulham.
The Englishman wouldn’t feature again in the competition until the following season, when he started for the first time and got 45 minutes of action against Aston Villa before being taken off at half-time due to Ainsley Maitland-Niles being sent off.
Impressively, the 24-year-old’s first league goal involvement came the very next game against Manchester United, when he once again started off the left and provided an assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Three more assists would come before the Hale Ender finally scored his first goal in the competition in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a game that saw Arteta play him on the right.
A return of nine goal involvements in 32 games marked a real improvement in the following campaign, but it was in the 21/22 season that the talismanic winger really began to show the rest of the league what he could do.
The Ealing-born monster racked up an impressive tally of 11 goals and seven assists in 38 appearances, and chalked up his first brace in a 5-0 thumping of Norwich City at Carrow Road.
Unsurprisingly, the England international has become an increasingly significant goal threat as the seasons have passed. Even though he missed almost four months of action last year, he still managed to produce 17 goal involvements in 25 league appearances.
Moreover, it was last season, in the game against West Ham at the London Stadium, in which he managed to produce four goal involvements in just 74 minutes of action; a goal and three assists.
18/19
1
0
0
19/20
26
1
5
20/21
32
5
4
21/22
38
11
7
22/23
38
14
12
23/24
35
16
12
24/25
25
6
11
25/26
5
2
0
In all, while there is still so much to come from Saka, he has already established himself as one of the very best in the Premier League over the years.
However, there was another Arsenal star who shone against the Hammers, and looks like he is becoming another Saka-esque star.
Arsenal's new Saka-esque star
The good news for Arteta is that there are quite a few players in this squad who could be classed as his best signing.
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However, in this instance, the player who deserves far more credit than he currently gets, and is becoming something of a Saka-esque star, is Jurrien Timber.
The Dutch international joined the club from Ajax in the summer of 2023 for a fee of around £38m, and despite missing practically all of the 23/24 season through an ACL injury, he has been immense in red and white.
He might not bomb up and down the pitch in the same explosive fashion as a Jeremie Frimpong, but the 24-year-old is a wall at the back, and to his credit, has become more of an attacking outlet over the last year or so.
For example, FBref now ranks him in the top 9% of full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for through balls, the top 10% for progressive passes and the top 12% for goal-creating actions, all per 90.
Tackles (Att 3rd)
0.62
Top 1%
npxG/Shot
0.14
Top 7%
Passes Blocked
0.73
Top 7%
Pass Completion %
86.5%
Top 8%
GCA (Shot)
0.05
Top 8%
Through Balls
0.19
Top 9%
Tackles (Mid 3rd)
1.08
Top 9%
Progressive Passes
5.95
Top 10%
Touches (Att Pen)
2.66
Top 10%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.38
Top 12%
Penalty Kicks Won
0.03
Top 12%
GCA (Take-On)
0.03
Top 13%
Tackles
2.64
Top 14%
On top of that, the Utrecht-born star has already scored two goals and provided two assists in just seven league appearances this season, with that second assist leading to Saka’s penalty.
However, while his continual improvement going forward is certainly a bonus, what really makes the Dutchman such an incredible player – and why the club view him “as one of the best in the world,” per Graeme Bailey – is his defensive brilliance.
He is an absolute rock at right-back and constantly makes life nightmarishly difficult for opposition wingers, which is just what he did against the Hammers.
In his 97 minutes of action, he made one clearance, two interceptions and six tackles as well as winning eight of 12 ground duels. He was an immovable object from the first minute to the last.
Now, you may be wondering to yourself: while this is all impressive, what makes Timber a Saka-esque star for Arteta?
Well, simply put, the manager can rely on him to put in consistently strong performances; he just does not let him down.
Ultimately, with his attacking play improving, his defensive abilities being some of the best in the league, and his consistent performances, it’s hard to disagree with analyst Ben Mattinson when he describes Timber as being “one of the best Emirates-era signings.”
