Ian Wright pays tribute to two players who kept Arsenal competitive before Mikel Arteta

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·18. September 2024

Ian Wright pays tribute to two players who kept Arsenal competitive before Mikel Arteta

Before Arsenal appointed Mikel Arteta as manager, they were under the leadership of a caretaker boss following the sacking of Unai Emery.

The Gunners named Freddie Ljungberg as interim manager while they searched for a permanent replacement and negotiated Arteta’s release from Manchester City.

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It was a challenging period for the team, as morale had plummeted, and some of their key players seemed disengaged.

However, two academy graduates, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, stood out for their dedication and seized the opportunity to earn the trust of the fans.

Saka and Smith Rowe played crucial roles in keeping the team stable before Arteta’s appointment and during the early days of his tenure.

Though they were very young at the time, Arsenal legend Ian Wright recently acknowledged their important contributions

He said, as quoted by The Sun:

“When you consider when he (Saka) got into the Arsenal side, where Arsenal were.

“It was almost on him and Emile Smith Rowe’s shoulders to try and get Arsenal through a certain period in the (Alexandre) Lacazette and (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang period, in and around that time.

“He was around 19 and 20. They dragged the club through.

“Just being able to support them two kept the fans going and gave Mikel the support he needed. It was down to them two.”

Just Arsenal Opinion

Smith Rowe and Saka are two academy graduates whose sacrifice we will not forget as we become a more successful club.

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