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Ball Boy Mikel Arteta Assists Classic Arsenal Goal As Young Gunners Shine In Win At Watford

Arsenal's youngsters stole the show in Sunday's 3-2 win at Watford but 39-year-old manager Mikel Arteta supplied an assist too.

Robert Summerscales

Ball Boy Mikel Arteta Assists Classic Arsenal Goal As Young Gunners Shine In Win At Watford
Ball Boy Mikel Arteta Assists Classic Arsenal Goal As Young Gunners Shine In Win At Watford /

Arsenal's youngsters stole the show in Sunday's 3-2 win at Watford but 39-year-old manager Mikel Arteta also played a key part in one of his side's goals.

What a beautiful goal it was too, with the final three players involved all taking just one touch.

It was typical of how Arsenal and Arteta used to play under former manager Arsene Wenger.

Arteta played the role of ball boy as he quickly fed Bukayo Saka who set Arsenal on the attack with a throw-in to Cedric Soares.

Right-back Soares raced away down the wing before playing the ball infield to Martin Odegaard, who flicked it first-time to Alexandre Lacazette.

Lacazette calmly teed up Gabriel Martinelli with his first touch, before the Brazilian placed a shot into the top corner with his.

That Martinelli goal made the score 3-1 to Arsenal seven minutes into the second half.

Saka had earlier set up Odegaard for Arsenal's opener, before scoring their second goal himself.

Former Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko pulled one back for Watford with three minutes to go, but Arsenal held on for the three points.

After his contributions at Watford, Saka has now been directly involved in 13 Premier League goals (scored eight, assisted five) this season - which is more than any other player aged 21 or under.

Fellow Gunners midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, who missed Sunday's game due to a positive COVID test, is second on that list with 11 contributions (nine goals, two assists), while Martinelli is joint-fourth with seven (five goals, two assists).

The future is looking bright for Arteta's young Gunners.

Mikel Arteta pictured on the touchline during Arsenal's 3-2 win at Watford in March 2022
Mikel Arteta pictured on the touchline during Arsenal's 3-2 win at Watford in March 2022 :: IMAGO/Andy Rowland
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.