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Winger reveals ‘hunger’ to succeed this season after back-to-back second-place finishes in the league
Bukayo Saka has insisted that Arsenal will be on the front foot against Manchester City in their Premier League showdown this weekend, declaring that his team are “going there to win”.
Arsenal faced criticism for their approach to playing City away last season, when they secured a single point with a goalless draw. Rodri, the City midfielder, later said that Arsenal “just wanted to draw” and questioned the mentality of Mikel Arteta’s side.
Saka has started the campaign in excellent form for Arsenal, scoring one goal and registering four assists in his first five appearances, and has revealed his “hunger” to succeed this season after back-to-back second-place finishes behind City.
Before Saturday’s action, the two teams were once again together at the top of the table, with Arsenal knowing that victory at the Etihad would give them a significant early advantage over Pep Guardiola’s side.
Saka said only Arsenal know the “real truth” about last season’s goalless draw, and insisted that they always play to win and will do so again this weekend.
“We will be going there to win, that is our focus,” said Saka. “To be honest, I don’t really care [about the criticism of last season’s performance]. We know what we believed, we know what we went there to achieve.
“Only we know the real truth. We went there to win and we are going to do that again this Sunday.”
Saka’s fast start to the season has come despite his exploits for England in the summer, where he was a key part of the team that reached the European Championship final.
Asked how he has so quickly found form after an exhausting summer, Saka said: “I just do everything. I live for football. I do everything to be ready for the next game. Whether it’s recovery, whether it’s food, whether it’s studying the game. I want to be the best player I can be.
“I think it’s a bit of everything. At the end of the day, it’s also hunger. To achieve what I haven’t achieved yet.”
The Arsenal winger said his drive comes from the disappointment in the title race in previous seasons and the Euro 2024 defeat by Spain. “It’s both,” he said. “But it’s been like that for two seasons now, so it hurts even more.”
Arsenal will have to cope without captain Martin Odegaard, who is Saka’s chief creative partner on the right flank. Odegaard has been ruled out of the next set of fixtures, at least, with an ankle injury.
“You know how much I love Martin,” said Saka. “He is a world-class player and we are going to miss him. We have to adapt. We have strength and players who can also play in his position. We will find a solution until he is back.”