When it was announced that Bukayo Saka had torn his hamstring, it sent shockwaves around the Arsenal fanbase.
Their man of the moment, their man of the big occasion, their very own Hale End star would be missing.
How on earth do you deal with a blow like that? Well, as Gabriel Martinelli said post-game after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Brentford on Wednesday, “no one can replace him. He is one of the best players in the world.” We couldn’t agree more.
Mikel Arteta tried replacing him with Gabriel Martinelli against Ipswich on the 27th December but he occupied more central areas than Saka and failed to offer the same level of dynamism, playing in straight lines rather than in 360 degrees.
Well, against Brentford in the Premier League’s first match of 2025, they found their solution.
How Arsenal beat Brentford
This wasn’t the most straightforward of wins, far from it in fact. The Gunners were pegged back after 13 minutes when the lively in-form star that is Bryan Mbeumo caught out both Riccardo Calafiori and David Raya to open the scoring.
Calafiori let the Bees star cut inside all too easily and then expecting an effort into his far corner, Raya was wrong-footed at his near post.
Arsenal have now gone eight straight away games in the league without keeping a clean sheet and could easily have buckled under the pressure that a raucous home crowd in Brentford’s favour was generating.
Well, this isn’t the Arsenal of old. There is a steely resilience about them and that has never been more evident than Gabriel Jesus’ revival over recent weeks.
Handed a starting berth in the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace prior to Christmas, the Brazilian scored a hat-trick. A scorer of two goals against Palace in their next game in the league a few days later, the former Manchester City forward has not dropped out of the starting XI since.
He may not have found the net against Ipswich last time out but he did play a vital role in Arsenal coming back to win in west London on Wednesday.
It was Jesus’ close-range header that equalised for Arsenal and it was his shot that hit Nathan Collins and rebounded into the path of Mikel Merino to make it 2-1 after the break.
The attacker did not have too much of a say in the third, however, but his Brazilian colleague Martinelli did, taking the ball down before rifling home a volley.
Unlike against the Tractor Boys a few days prior, Martinelli did not start on the right on this occasion and instead stood out while playing out on the left.
He interchanged with Jesus incredibly well as the two Brazilian stars swapped between a central role in the side and a wider role. It seemed to work a treat.
Chalkboard
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That said, neither look like the most ideal of Saka replacements. Instead, they have found a certain Ethan Nwaneri. A 17-year-old boy wonder who looks fit to fill his fellow Hale Ender’s boots in the months to come.
Ethan Nwaneri’s performance in numbers
Handed a first-team debut coincidentally against Brentford in 2022 aged just 15, Nwaneri has had to be patient to receive regular senior opportunities since.
That said, 2024/25 has been a breakthrough campaign for the spritely teenager so far, scoring his first goals for the club in the Carabao Cup before opening up his Premier League account by finding the net against Nottingham Forest at the end of November.
Since then, he’s watched 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly become a regular starter in the Arsenal side, all while awaiting his very first league start. Well, that finally came against the Bees this week and boy did the youngster take his chance.
Playing 78 minutes from Saka’s favoured right wing, the teen didn’t look out of place. In fact, he looked like the most Saka-esque player in the entire squad.
Many wondered how the club would deal with the England international’s absence but in Nwaneri, they have found their dream solution.
That said, neither look like the most ideal of Saka replacements. Instead, they have found a certain Ethan Nwaneri. A 17-year-old boy wonder who looks fit to fill his fellow Hale Ender’s boots in the months to come.
Playing 78 minutes from Saka’s favoured right wing, the teen didn’t look out of place. In fact, he looked like the most Saka-esque player in the entire squad.
Many wondered how the club would deal with the England international’s absence but in Nwaneri, they have found their dream solution.
As the numbers show, he was a constant threat and showed the type of drive and ball manipulation that you won’t get from many other players. That’s not to mention that, vitally, he is left-footed too.
There have been rave reviews surrounding the Arsenal academy star for a long time now and with four goals to his name already from just 17 outings this term, he has the world at his feet.
Could this be the next Saka lying in wait? Quite possibly but he will have to go some way to replicating the feats of a player valued at a mighty £124m by Transfermarkt.
Still, he has already played more minutes than Saka had at the same age so what’s to say that he won’t be the next mega-money Hale Ender? It’s exciting times, let’s put it that way.