- Bukayo Saka scored twice in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Monaco on Wednesday
- He almost scored his first hat-trick, but was denied by one of his teammates
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Bukayo Saka has jokingly blamed one of his Arsenal teammates for costing him his first hat-trick for the club in his side’s 3-0 win over Monaco on Wednesday night.
Saka put Arsenal ahead in the first half when he tapped in Gabriel Jesus’ cross, and he doubled the Gunners’ lead after the break when he took advantage of a defensive error by the visitors.
The 23-year-old had 12 minutes left to complete his hat-trick, and he almost did it.
With two minutes to go the ball fell to him in the penalty area and Saka fired an effort towards goal, but the ball flew past Kai Havertz and then Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer before flying into the roof of the net.
Havertz claimed the goal to deny Saka his third of the night, with the winger admitting his teammate ‘got in the way’. However, he assured Arsenal fans that his first hat-trick is just around the corner.
‘He [Havertz] was in the way!’ Saka said this in a post-match interview with TNT Sports. But don’t worry, it’s coming. It’s coming.’
Bukayo Saka was the star of the show as he scored twice for Arsenal on Wednesday evening
He has jokingly claimed that Kai Havertz (second right) cost him his hat-trick by getting in the way of his late try
Saka also praised Myles Lewis-Skelly after the teenager excelled in his first Champions League start
Saka has now registered 20 goals in 21 appearances for Arsenal this season after netting all three at the Emirates on Wednesday.
Mohamed Salah is the only other Premier League player to surpass this figure as Saka continues to show how important he is to Arsenal’s bid for silverware this season.
He wasn’t the only academy talent against Monaco, as Myles Lewis-Skelly was also handed his first Champions League start by Mikel Arteta.
Lewis-Skelly looked home from the first whistle and played a role in the opening goal of the evening when he passed the ball to Jesus, who in turn found Saka.
Saka and Lewis-Skelly both spoke to TNT Sports after the match, and the former insisted he never doubted the teenager would take on the challenge on the biggest stage.
Saka revealed what he told Lewis-Skelly before kick-off: ‘I just said to him: “This is his level”, he has to have no doubts, play the game and have the confidence. We see what he does in training.
‘We are happy for him and he played a key role in the first goal. He just has to keep going. I’m just so proud of him.’