Bellerin, Tierney to return for Arsenal U23s; Saka wants more after Europa goal
Unai Emery has set a date for the returns of Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin, with both set to play for Arsenal Under-23s against Wolves.
Published : Sep 20, 2019 10:36 IST
Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin will make their returns to action for Arsenal Under-23s on Friday, Unai Emery confirmed.
Scotland left-back Tierney has been dealing with a groin injury he sustained prior to his reported £25million move from Celtic on deadline day, while Bellerin has been out since an anterior cruciate ligament rupture suffered in January.
Arsenal head coach Emery revealed the defensive duo had returned to training last week and they will edge closer to a return to the first team against Wolves U23.
Emery announced the date for their return following the Gunners' 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League opener on Thursday.
READ| Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal: Saka punishes 10-man host
Bukayo Saka, 18, had two assists and a goal on his second start for the club, with Joe Willock and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also on target at the Commerzbank Arena.
It ensured Arsenal emerged triumphant from an open game and went top of Group F, with Standard Liege beating Vitoria SC in the section's other game.
"We know that match was difficult. They were very strong here. They're a very offensive team and defensively we needed to work, sometimes deep, sometimes with their full-backs very deep, crossing a lot to the strikers," said Emery.
"We spoke and worked on the transition if we were organised defensively and with good pressing. We did that.
"We had the possibility with the young players to create chances and help them, also sharing with experienced players. Their performance tonight was good. It's our way.
"We did good work. They shoot a lot because they have a lot of attacking players."
- Saka wants more after opening Arsenal account -
Bukayo Saka scored his first Arsenal goal in Thursday's 3-0 Europa League victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and already has his sights set on more.
The teenage winger set up Joe Willock for the first-half opener and drew a foul from Dominik Kohr that resulted in the Eintracht midfielder's second yellow card with 11 minutes remaining.
Saka was key to Arsenal capitalising on their numerical advantage, bending home a fine finish from the edge of the box and releasing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to cap an impressive victory at the Commerzbank-Arena.
"It was a very proud moment, I'm so happy. It's a dream come true. Since I was a kid, I've always dreamed of scoring for [the] Arsenal first team. Now I've done that and I just want to do it more," Saka told BT Sport.
"We spoke about it before the game, their fans get behind them a lot. They were making noise the whole game long. We said we had to play with our confidence and stick to our game plan."
Saka became the youngest Arsenal player to score in European competition since a 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey in October 2008, impressing Willock.
"He's a special player and he got two assists and one goal tonight," Willock said of Saka.
"I'm happy to score and contribute to winning the game, but as a whole I thought we all did well and it was a big night for us.
"They were very strong one-v-one and they tried to press us high, so we had to hit them on the counter. We knew we had fast players so that was our game plan. It worked and we had a lot of chances to score, but we got there in the end."