Bukayo Saka: ‘We Must Bounce Back Quickly After Man United Defeat’

Bukayo Saka has called on his Arsenal teammates to show their character and respond strongly after Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United ended the Gunners’ unbeaten home record this season.

Arsenal had taken the lead in the first half and later fought back to level late on, but were undone when Matheus Cunha struck from distance to seal victory for the visitors.

The loss was only Arsenal’s third in 35 matches across all competitions this season, but it came as a bitter blow in their pursuit of a first Premier League title in over two decades.

Speaking to the club’s official website afterwards, Saka admitted the performance fell short of expectations.

‘I think we didn’t show our best level for the full game, which is frustrating. It’s such a big game with a lot riding on it. Obviously, the Emirates has been a place where we’ve been so strong this season. It’s a tough loss to take, but we have to stick together. We go again next week; we’ll try and get back to winning ways.’

Saka stressed the importance of resilience in the face of setbacks.

‘In football, you can score, you can concede – it’s your reaction after it. Obviously, we would have wanted to make it 2-0, but we didn’t. Overall, we’re just not too happy with the performance. The journey’s not always going to be smooth, there’s going to be ups and downs. It’s up to us to show our character next week.’

Arsenal now turn their attention to the Champions League, with a midweek fixture before returning to Premier League action away to Leeds United.

Saka insisted the team must quickly move on from the disappointment: ‘That’s all our focus now, we can’t change the result. We look forward and onto next week.’