Arteta & Rice discuss “beautiful moment” of Saka’s comeback | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice have admitted they loved the reaction to Bukayo Saka’s return from injury against Fulham on Tuesday night.

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After three months away, Bukayo Saka made his return from injury in midweek against Fulham. Mikel Arteta opted not to start the 23-year-old in his first game back, but he did bring him off the bench for the final 25 or so minutes.

It didn’t take long for the winger to have an impact, turning in an expert Gabriel Martinelli assist from close range to score what proved to be the winning goal.

But putting the actual contest aside, it was just nice to see Saka getting such a huge round of applause and cheers as he came off the bench. Arteta admitted as much afterwards.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

“I think it’s a beautiful moment to see how much our people love, respect and admire Bukayo,” Arteta said (via Arsenal.com and Sky Sports).

“Immediately after scoring a goal, what does he do? He goes and says thank you for all the hard work that all the sports science guys, physios and everybody involved in the recovery have done for him to be in the condition that he is.

“I think he lifted the stadium, the energy and it’s great to have him back.

“When the stadium is right behind the team and is showing signs of love and support and encouragement to players individually, I think that lifts the whole place. It’s exactly what we need.”

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Declan Rice was also pleased for his teammate, telling Arsenal.com that the fans had shown how much they love the winger.

“We could see him coming off the pitch, how happy he was,” Rice said. “I think the reaction from the fans speaks for itself and how much he’s loved here.

“He’s the man isn’t he? He’s the one that we’ve all been waiting for to come back fit. We’ve got him back at a crucial time, so let’s see what happens.

“He’s worked so hard – really, really hard. I’ve seen him every day. It’s been a nice reset for him, even though he didn’t want to get injured. He’s back fit, he’s training, he’s ready.”

With his goal against Fulham, Saka is now into double figures for goals this season despite his three-month absence, as well as providing 14 assists in all competitions.

The task now is to get a run going ahead of the upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.