“He may have been chosen for the bronze medal, but he still has the ability to create truly golden moments” shouted John Champion when Thierry Henry scored. that Arsenal goal.
Titi, as he became known, was there doing everything with the Gunners.
The great Frenchman, a Highbury legend, is the club’s all-time top scorer, holds the Premier League record for most assists in a single season (20) and has been awarded countless accolades for his efforts.
He has won the Golden Boot award multiple times, won the league, won the FA Cup and also has a World Cup winners’ medal. He is probably the greatest player to never win the Ballon d’Or.
So when manager Arsene Wenger returned on loan from New York Red Bulls for his final year in north London, he intended to deal in only one currency: goals.
He may have been reduced to a bit-part player, but his magic was still there, scoring that vintage goal against Leeds in the FA Cup I mentioned, and then scoring the winning goal against Sunderland.
Henry was cast in a statue outside Emirates Stadium, along with club legends Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams.
Ever since these memories were forged, supporters have been yearning for similar times. The Invincibles have not won a league title since the 2003/04 season. How much they want that to change.
It’s been 21 years and there’s a sense that this is their best chance to win since then. Players like Bukayo Saka may soon be exposed to bronze statues outside stadiums.
Why is the statue waiting for Bukayo Saka?
Has there ever been a player as brilliant as Saka during his time at the Emirates?
Players like Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will all have something to say about it, but none are as beloved as Saka.
He’s Arsenal through and through. Born in London, raised in Hale End. The winger has been with the Gunners since he was a child and was the figurehead of Mikel Arteta’s project.
Saka’s rise came under Unai Emery, but it was Arteta who helped him become a household name, Arsenal’s talisman and one of the top names on England’s team sheet.
The 24-year-old’s rise to stardom has been quite a ride. Having started in the senior ranks as an interim left-back, he is now ranked as one of the best wingers in the world. He did it in Gareth Bale style and has the numbers to prove why he is fast becoming an Arsenal legend.
No player has featured more than Saka under Arteta, and overall players in Arsenal colors have made 272 appearances, scoring 73 goals and assisting 71 goals.
Arteta’s most used players | |
|---|---|
player | game |
1. Bukayo Saka | 252 |
2. Gabriel | 221 |
3. Gabriel Martinelli | 218 |
4. Martin Odegaard | 204 |
5. Thomas Partey | 166 |
6. Ben White | 163 |
7. Eddie Nketiah | 149 |
8. Granit Xhaka | 147 |
9. William Saliba | 144 |
10. Leandro Trossard | 133 |
Saka may only have one trophy to his name – the FA Cup – but if the Arsenal vice-captain can help guide Arsenal to Premier League and Champions League glory, he will no doubt be immortalized alongside Henry and others outside the stadium.
There is also a good chance that Adams, a new member of the club, will join him next to him.
Arsenal’s new Tony Adams is headed for statue territory
Without Saka in recent years, Arteta’s attack would have been lackluster. As it turns out, it’s in the last third that we find the biggest problem.
Due mainly to long-term hamstring injuries to Saka and Kai Havertz, the 2024/25 season marks the first time since 1923/24 that an Arsenal player has failed to reach double figures in league goalscoring.
So what has Arteta’s success been built on? Defending.
When the Spaniard first took charge of Arsenal, the back line was in disarray. In the opening game against Bournemouth, Saka featured alongside Sokratis and David Luiz, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles playing at right-back.
Sokratis and Luiz are far from Arsenal’s worst defenders. The likes of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi are thinking about that.
It shows how much the Gunners are under Arteta’s control. For those who criticize it as boring, please think about what it was like in the past.
Mikel Arteta’s first Arsenal XI |
|---|
GK – Land |
RB – Ainsley Maitland-Niles |
CB – Socrates |
CB – David Luiz |
LB – Bukayo Saka |
CM – Lucas Torreira |
CM – Granit Xhaka |
CAM – Mesut Ozil |
RW – Reese Nelson |
LW – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
CF – Alexandre Lacazette |
In the 2018/19 season, the year before the former Arsenal captain returned to manage the club, the Gunners scored 51 goals, the most goals conceded in a single season in the Premier League.
Going back to the present, there is probably no better defender in Europe. They are yet to concede in their three Champions League games and have only conceded three goals in the Premier League, with only one of those goals coming from open play. This is courtesy of Erling Haaland, so please bear with it. Humans are machines.
As a result, they conceded just 14 goals in the league, an improvement on Chelsea’s remarkable 2004-05 campaign in which they conceded just 15. This statistic remains incredible.
Arteta has significantly strengthened his backline and found a player in Gabriel Magalhães who is, after all, worthy of a statuette. Truly, he is a modern-day Tony Adams.
A fierce leader, a great defender and a goalscorer, there’s not much the Brazilian can’t do.
It’s hard to believe he was once worth just £27m. He looks every bit like a £100m centre-back now.
In recent years, the player who has received the loudest praise from experts is William Saliba. The French superstar is a Rolls-Royce defender, but those watching quickly realized that Gabriel is truly the glue of this team.
Saliba exudes class and poise, while Gabriel is definitely the leader of the men. He does it not only by speaking, but his actions speak a thousand words.
It was Jamie Carragher who admitted last season that the French defender looked a little lost when his accomplice wasn’t playing, but the same can’t be said of Gabriel, who is fast becoming Mr Reliable.
“I think Saliba is a better player, but Gabriel is a better leader. If you want to reach the level of Virgil van Dijk, you need to bring that into the game. Saliba needs Gabriel.” – Jamie Carragher.
Proving just how good the former Lille star is, he has won 77% of his ground battles in the league this season. Incidentally, among England’s top defenders who have won at least 10 ground games, he ranks tied for fifth in terms of ground game win percentage, alongside the great Virgil van Dijk.
However, what is most surprising is Gabriel’s attacking performance. You can bet on the fact that if a corner kick or free kick is given to him, the big Brazilian is likely to score a header. As Arsenal writer Adam Keyes puts it, he is a “giant”.
He contributed two goals in the 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid earlier this week. Declan Rice’s swung free-kick put them in the lead, and Gabriel scored his second goal of the night, assisting Victor Goqueres from Rice’s corner.
The simple fact is that Gabriel is a clutch player. Since the 2020/21 season, no center back in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more than 22 goals.
In league football alone, he has scored 18 goals, making him second only to Laurent Koscielny (22) for goals scored by an Arsenal defender in the Premier League.
He is a modern-day great, a pillar of steadfastness, a warrior, a leader, a giant. If Arsenal can continue to build a title-winning dynasty, Gabriel will no doubt be in the running for a bronze medal. He’s a very nice person.