Saka shines with 50th goal but Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool leaves a bitter taste

LONDON, Oct 28 — Bukayo Saka became the youngest Arsenal player to score 50 Premier League goals when he returned from a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool, but the winger was disappointed to drop two points after how he was on the verge of defeat. decisive victory.

Saka, who was injured during England’s defeat to Greece earlier this month, scored early to become the seventh youngest player in the league to score 50 goals at 23 years and 52 days, eight days older than when England’s top scorer Harry Kane scored his 50th Premier League goal. .

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler remains the youngest player to reach the milestone at 20 years and 252 days, ahead of fellow strikers Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku, with Cristiano Ronaldo the fifth youngest.

“I hate missing games, so I really wanted to come back. I was thinking about this game that I need to get back to and I felt good there and I was happy to score an early goal,” Saka told Arsenal’s official website.

“We are disappointed. I feel like we didn’t play our best for 90 minutes and it ended up costing us dearly. We think we should have won.”

Coach Mikel Arteta also cited Saka’s consistency as one of the positives in a match that saw key players Gabriel Magalhas and Jurrien Timber sidelined with injuries.

“After a few weeks off, his play and competition were exceptional. I think we had great, great individual performances as a team,” Arteta said.

Third-placed Arsenal, who lost to Bournemouth last weekend, are now five points behind leaders Manchester City. Arsenal continue their league campaign against Newcastle United on Saturday. — Reuters