Bukayo Saka said “this is the year” for Arsenal to become winners after scoring in a 2-0 Champions League win against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s side climbed into the top eight of the new Champions League league phase table, which guarantees a spot in the round of 16 later this season, with goals from Kai Havertz and Saka against the French champions.
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The Gunners have finished runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League in the last two seasons and haven’t won a major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 2019-20, but after the confidence-boosting win against PSG, Saka said that Arsenal are now becoming a team that can win silverware and he has the “hunger in his belly” to go the final step to achieving success.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on us, but I do think this is the year,” Saka said. “We’ve been close the last two years and we’re getting closer.
“This season, there’s a lot of hunger in my belly. Previous years, I’ve come runners-up a lot. It’s just that spirit in me that I want to win this season and of course, I believe in myself a lot. With those two things, it helps.
“We believe in ourselves, we believe we’re a top team. We showed that tonight [against PSG]. I did tell the boys we have to make a statement when big teams are coming to the Emirates.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta echoed Saka’s comments by saying it was important for his side to beat a major European force in the shape of PSG.
Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s second goal against PSG. Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
“PSG are one of the best teams in the world so to beat them, it raises confidence we can compete with any team at any level,” Arteta said. “We showed a lot of maturity in how we played and our stamp on how we want to behave against top teams in Europe.
“I think the players want to prove a point against top teams at home and they were very dominant. We have the belief and it creates big nights against big cubs, it creates energy and lifts the belief of everybody.
“And if the players feel we are in right direction and believing what we do, that’s a great sign. To be able to perform the way we did is a really good sign.”
Arteta, meanwhile, said that defender Jurriën Timber was substituted at half-time as a precaution after sustaining a muscular problem. “Timber felt something muscular,” Arteta said. “We’re not certain what it is, but we didn’t want to take risks. He has been out for a year and has had more minutes than expected this season, so have to manage it and workload.”
