Bukayo Saka feels ‘blessed’ to make 300th Arsenal appearance in win at Brighton

Arsenal goalscorer Bukayo Saka said he felt “blessed” to have made his 300th appearance for the club in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Brighton.

Victory at the Amex Stadium moved the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, but it came with the team far from their best and they required a goalkeeping error to get them over the line.

Saka’s shot in the ninth minute took the merest deflection off Carlos Baleba which was enough to wrong-foot Bart Verbruggen who allowed the ball to squeeze between his legs.

Thereafter Arsenal clung to their lead despite struggling for fluency and completing only 70.9 per cent of their passes, their lowest figure since losing 5-0 to Manchester City in August 2021.

Saka, who made his debut in 2018 aged 17, became the fourth-fastest player to reach 300 appearances after David O’Leary, Cesc Fabregas and Liam Brady.

“I feel very blessed,” he said. “It’s a beautiful day for me and my family. To top it off with a massive win and a goal, I’m so grateful. Let’s just keep going like this. Let’s keep enjoying this journey and continue like this.”

Arsenal were strangely subdued and scored with virtually their only chance of the match, Saka receiving the ball from Jurrien Timber wide on the right before cutting inside and finding the net.

“I had an action before where I thought I could have been a bit more direct,” he said. “When I got the ball next, I said ‘I’m going to be direct and go for it’. I did that, cut in and took a shot. I didn’t know how it went in initially, but a goal’s a goal so we’ll take it.”

City’s draw with Nottingham Forest meant the Gunners took the title race out of the hands of Pep Guardiola’s side, with the two set to meet at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.

Should City emerge victorious and win their game in hand it would still leave them a point behind Arsenal and requiring another slip from the leaders.

“We fought for it,” said Saka. “In the end, we got the win, we got the result we wanted. We just feel good about it.

“The games keep coming. We keep getting results and that’s the way we need to keep going. We’ve got another one today, so we’re happy. We just need to keep continuing like this.”

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler had been critical before the game of what he considered to be Arsenal’s time-wasting tactics this season.

There was plenty on display at the Amex to add grist to the mill of those accusations with the visitors continually delaying restarts at free-kicks, while goalkeeper David Raya went down injured three times and required treatment.

“I made my point before the game and I stick to it,” said Hurzeler. “In the end I think against these kind of opponents, you can only punish them by winning so today I have no arguments on my side.

“If I would have a 2-1 win, a deserved 2-1 win, I could speak differently.”