Bukayo Saka has rekindled his on-field partnership with Ben White across Arsenal’s last two matches, starting together against Fulham and then linking up again against Atletico Madrid as Saka produced a goal and an assist at Fulham and the winning strike at Atletico Madrid.
The reunion was notable for its immediacy: the Fulham game was the first time Saka and White both started in the Premier League since December, and the pair combined 14 passes in the first half before Saka was withdrawn at half-time. White completed nine passes to Saka in that Fulham match — the highest number by any player in the game. Against Atletico Madrid, White found Saka eight times before being taken off in the 58th minute, as Saka’s winner secured a 1-0 victory.
Those touch counts underline a deeper link. Since the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, White and Saka have exchanged 19.6 passes per 90 minutes; by comparison, Saka’s exchanges with Jurrien Timber sit at 12.4 per 90. The split in numbers helps explain why Arsenal’s right-sided attacking threat appeared stronger while Saka and White were on the pitch than after they were withdrawn.
Mikel Arteta has pointed to both fitness and familiarity as the reasons the partnership is resurfacing. "Obviously his role has grown around the club, around the team and on the pitch towards the opponent as well. You sense that. He has got a presence now, he has got an aura. He has got something special," Arteta said of Saka. He also argued that Saka "is a different player, he is a player that can change a game at any moment. And creating that fear in the opponent is something important." Arteta added that Saka had only recently overcome the effects of the Achilles injury he suffered in March and that the manager had tried to use Saka’s minutes carefully: "We would have loved to have him much more in recent weeks. But, I said to him: ‘If that’s the case, let’s use this in the best way - which is you are going to jump in fresh, motivated and with a different emotional state. You can really impact the team now’."
The return of Saka in game-winning form has prompted sharper takes. Former midfielder Emmanuel Petit said the team felt the impact of Saka’s absence and praised the timing of his return: "Viktor Gyokeres was missing Bukayo Saka; he was out for months, while Martin Odegaard spent long periods on the bench. Can you imagine where Arsenal would’ve been if those players had been fit all season?" Petit added: "We can see now how badly Saka was missed, his return might be what wins Arsenal the Premier League and the Champions League," and he suggested Saka looks "mentally and physically fresh" as Arteta manages his minutes.
The friction point is clear: injuries and managerial choices limited Saka and White’s opportunities to play together over the last two seasons, and Arteta has at times preferred Jurrien Timber at right-back. Yet the on-field evidence from these two fixtures — the passing counts, Saka’s direct goal contributions and the drop-off after substitutions — argues the combination produces a distinct attacking edge. That creates a selection dilemma for Arteta as Arsenal prepare for a Premier League test against West Ham.
Practical questions follow: can Arteta balance Saka’s workload after an Achilles layoff while preserving the rhythm he and White are rebuilding, and will White’s understanding of Saka’s runs, which Arteta called "better than anyone else," be enough to force a longer run together in the starting XI? For readers tracking Arsenal’s title push and European ambitions, these two matches offer the clearest evidence to date that Saka — the 24-year-old whose role has expanded — is back to the kind of form and connection that changes games. For more on Saka’s return and its potential impact on the run-in, see earlier coverage at and commentary here:
