What Bukayo Saka did during Arsenal return as Andrea Berta sent clear transfer message

One down, one to go. Then it's Real Madrid.

It was hard to escape that feeling at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal returned to action following the international break. With two matches before hosting the reigning European champions, and a title race still a little too far gone to be that optimistic about, this was the preview to the preview.

With a slightly strange midweek schedule after the international break, Arsenal made light work of tough opposition. Mikel Merino's first half opener was deserved for keeping Fulham quiet more than genuine Arsenal dominance and chance creation.

Bukayo Saka's second was a statement of what Arsenal now need to hope for more of in the games to come. Next up it's Everton and then it's Madrid, the real focus. For this game it was really all about Saka. He provided the backdrop to a night of injury confusion.

On the one hand, here was Arsenal's best player returning. Ben White did not make it, though, and is immediately a doubt for Madrid. Gabriel Magalhaes then had to go off, leaving the balance of the defence for next Tuesday in serious doubt.

That is a worry to have later in the week. For now, here are some of the finer moments which may have gone under the radar.

Nwaneri feels the flow

Tasked with making things tick from the right-wing once more, Ethan Nwaneri took matters into his own hands early on. He let the flow of the game take him away rather than sticking to his spot out wide, running with the ball inside and across the pitch.

Not only did he jinx away from Antonee Robinson - one of the league's most impressive full-backs - but he did what every kid is told to: Follow the pass. Nwaneri jumped over a tackle and popped off a simple ball before seeing a gap in the Fulham defence.

He wandered over to Gabriel Martinelli's side of the field and chose to act instinctively, sprinting down the line and receiving a threaded pass. From there he made it all the way to the byline before cutting back a low cross.

It broke a lot of the positional play rules, leaving the right channel and half-space empty, asking Jurrien Timber to step up high and wide on the right. It also earned Arsenal their first real breakthrough and chance of the game.

Joining Martinelli, Nwaneri's movement was rightfully Brazilian as he abandoned strict and set areas to work in. This wasn't an isolated incident either as he regularly drifted central to create overloads, dribbling directly at the heart of the Fulham backline.

It was a sign of a youngster unleashed, totally free and empowered to roam. That gets the best from players and Nwaneri has already shown he is more than comfortable to exploit this.

Berta's first appearance

Just as new sporting director Andrea Berta was in place at Monday's press conference, where there's plenty of attention on his role, he also took up a place in the stands here. Sitting in the director's box, Berta watched on with steely eyes for his first Arsenal game.

When the cameras did pan to the Italian he gave very little away. It was notable that in the week of his appointment and fresh reports of plans to sign a striker - namely increasingly loud noise around Viktor Gyokeres - Merino was the one to step up to score.

His record is improving by the game at centre forward and here he showed a lovely touch when controlling inside the box before finishing off with a deflected shot into the far corner. It was a proper striker's goal, as many of his have been.

Berta is unlikely to be sold on the long-term sustainability of success with Merino as the club's No.9, as nobody is, but it was a strong message at the right time. Also, Berta being in attendance - as is largely expected of someone in his position - only goes to add to the sense of this being a new dawn.

His presence on Monday at the Sobha Realty training ground was a great touch. It was something Edu Gaspar did not do during press conferences and will make Berta a popular member quickly if he continues.

Saka love-in

Alex Iwobi was every Arsenal fan for around 10 seconds. Warming up for Fulham he bumped into his old teammate and academy graduate.

Watching on during a set of stretches, Iwobi saw Fulham's Calvin Bassey pull Saka over for a big hug. Dancing around with Saka in his arms and hanging around for a chat, the defender was full of life and energy as Saka returned to the matchday squad for Arsenal.

Bouncing around with joy, Bassey then grasped Saka and gave him a big embrace. Iwobi seemed to exchange a few words as well on the sideline and was left only able to grin with happiness.

The Emirates Stadium crowd enjoyed it all as well. Saka was greeted with a huge round of applause and a standing ovation from the lower tier as he made his way down to the corner flag for some light warming up and stretches. You'd have thought he had played and dominated, such was the reaction.

Still in a big coat and with tracksuit bottoms on, Saka was not in any rush but did leave himself open to the playful assault from Bassey. It was still a heartwarming moment from a low-key first half that missed all of Saka's stardust. The supporters were cheering again for their talisman a short time later as he finally came on.

The anticipation could be felt in the moments leading up to his substitution. The Emirates Stadium rose in unison to clap him on. It was possibly the biggest celebration of the night.

His first touch - a delightful right foot cushion from a searching long ball into the right channel - was greeted with a roar, as was the much easier pass backwards. Just in case it wasn't obvious, Arsenal fans have missed him.

If that wasn't obvious then his own personal delight at scoring definitely was. Saka ran around the back of the goal, holding his hands up with a heart. He was mobbed by red shirts before then heading over to the bench.

There, Saka leaned behind the rows of seats to hug a member of the backroom staff. Sam Wilson was the lucky recipient and he also got a head pat. Wilson is part of the Arsenal medical team and will be someone the entire club can thank for getting Saka back at the right time.

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