Over the course of Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich, Bukayo Saka was able to break a competition record.
Bukayo Saka could not fire Arsenal to glory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Instead, the winger struggled to have much of an impact as the Gunners succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena and were eliminated from the competition by virtue of a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
Saka failed to make a tangible impact in the final third against Bayern Munich last night. The Hale End academy graduate has been the Gunners’ most potent attacking player this season, and Mikel Arteta is clearly hugely reliant upon him, but he looked fatigued and was well marshalled by the German giants in this second-leg fixture.
Bayern Munich knew all about the danger that Saka poses heading into last night’s clash, as he had struck against them in the first leg. The England man broke this quarter-final match-up open at the Emirates Stadium with a well-placed finish into the bottom corner.
Bukayo Saka breaks Champions League record
With that first-leg strike, Saka in fact broke a Champions League record. As reported by beIN Sports, the Arsenal attacker recorded eight goal involvements in this season’s edition of Europe’s elite club competition – no other English player has ever contributed more in his first ever Champions League campaign. Saka has four goals and four assists to his name after nine outings in the competition.
On top of that first-leg goal against Bayern Munich, he also netted against Lens, Sevilla, and PSV Eindhoven on his Champions League debut. He also contributed assists against PSV, Sevilla, and Lens.
Saka has been dubbed a ‘world-class’ player this season, and it seems that he is destined to enjoy a big future in the Champions League. However, he needs help. He looks tired at the moment, which is unsurprising given just how much football he has been asked to play this season.
How Mikel Arteta can get the best out of Bukayo Saka when Arsenal need him most
Arteta will have learned several lessons about his Arsenal squad off the back of their Champions League exit, and he also needs to recognise that to get the best out of Saka in the business end of the season, he can’t have been run into the ground before that point.
Arsenal need to find an adequate rotation option for Saka in the upcoming summer transfer window, someone who Arteta can trust enough to start matches when the first-choice winger is in need of a rest.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka from his age, parents and house