Bukayo Saka’s goal against Olympiacos marked the first time in over 20 years that Arsenal have had substitutes score in five consecutive fixtures.
Bukayo Saka settled any Arsenal nerves late in Wednesday’s win over Olympiacos with a low driven finish under the goalkeeper for 2-0, with Saka having come off the bench 20 minutes earlier.
Mikel Arteta’s substitutes have had a major impact lately, with Harvey Downes reporting that it’s the first time since August-September 2004 that Arsenal have had a substitute score in five consecutive games.
Substitutes Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both scored against Athletic Club, before Martinelli added another goal as a substitute against Manchester City.
Trossard then scored as a sub against Port Vale, and Mikel Merino came off the bench to score against former club Newcastle United.
So when Saka scored against Olympiacos, it was Arsenal’s sixth substitute goal in five matches.
For anyone interested, the run of five games in 2004 was as follows:
- Robert Pires (65th-min sub) – 82nd-min goal vs Everton – 4-1 win
- Robert Pires (61st-min sub) – 64th-min goal vs Middlesbrough – 5-3 win
- Jose Antonio Reyes (77th-min sub) – 79th-min goal vs Blackburn Rovers – 3-0 win
- Dennis Bergkamp (73rd-min sub) – 90th-min goal vs Norwich City – 4-1 win
- Jose Antonio Reyes (61st-min sub) – 71st-min goal vs Fulham FC – 3-0 win
As impressive as that run was, perhaps it could be argued the substitutes’ goals weren’t quite as impactful, with only the Middlesbrough game (in which Arsenal were 3-2 down) in any danger of ending in anything other than a win.
The Gunners were two goals ahead and somewhat cruising in the other four matches.
This time around, Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead vs Athletic Club (with Trossard settling the game), Martinelli and Merino scored equalisers against Manchester City and Newcastle United, and Trossard and Saka settled one-goal games.
Arteta’s changes have certainly been key to Arsenal’s current run of results in all competitions.