Bukayo Saka jokingly insisted that he wanted to stay on the pitch for the entirety of Arsenal’s 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Lens.

The England star was one of the Gunners’ five goalscorers in the first half of the clash at the Emirates, bundling home the third via his chest after earlier goals from Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus and before later first half strikes from Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.

Saka was withdrawn for Reiss Nelson midway through the second half before Jorginho added the sixth from the penalty spot. Many Gunners fans were delighted to see Saka come off as they fear he is being played too often by Arteta, whose side face Wolves at home on Saturday.

When asked by TNT Sports when asked if he was happy to be taken off early, a lighthearted Saka replied “Not really! I wanted to play 90 minutes if I’m going to be honest. I understand his decision and now I’m focused on Wolves and doing my best in that game as well.”

On the team’s performance, which secured top spot in the Champions League group stage, he added: “Everyone is really happy. It’s our first time back in the Champions League for a while and we’ve qualified with a game to go.

“When we first looked at our group we wanted to finish top. We’ve done that so can be proud. “The boss is already reminding us to just enjoy a little bit and then focus on Wolves on Saturday.”

Fellow goalscorer Gabriel Jesus was also delighted with the performance, adding: “Playing at home with our fans’ support is always amazing because they push us. We wanted to win the game and qualify top of the group which is always important. Congratulations to the whole team, we played amazing and did a very good job.

TNT Sports gives you access to games across the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and many more. You can also watch the biggest clashes in boxing, UFC, WWE and the get exclusive action from MLB all for one payment every month. You can watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

 

 

 

 

“When you start a game like we did, we scored a lot of goals and wanted to continue but sometimes it is impossible because you get tired and the opponent tries to come and play with the ball.

“It’s always difficult but in the end, we kept a clean sheet which is good and then we scored in the last few minutes – it was a good performance and an important win.”

Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.