Bukayo Saka’s four-word message after being substituted against City

Amid the chaos of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, it’s easy to forget that Bukayo Saka was the surprise candidate to be substituted at half-time.

The Premier League’s top two sides for the past two seasons played out a 2-2 draw in an intense encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Arsenal canceled out an early goal from Erling Haaland to take a 2-1 lead at half-time with strikes from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhães.

However, disaster struck when Leandro Trossard was controversially shown a second yellow card shortly before half-time for kicking the ball away after the referee’s whistle, just weeks after Declan Rice was sent off in a similar incident.

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Mikel Arteta opted at half-time to bring on Ben White and switch to a defensive formation that often saw Arsenal play with a back six, with a further three positioned just up front.

Bukayo Saka reacts to Arsenal’s substitution

Saka was the shock player to make way for the Whites, despite wearing the captain’s armband and curling in a delicious corner to set up Gabriel’s goal to put the Gunners 2-1 up just minutes before Trossard’s red card .

Given his impact on the game, you’d forgive Saka for not taking too kindly to being removed midway through such a simple game.

However, the England international is much kinder than that. After the game, Saka took to social media to praise his teammates, who took until the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time to break under immense pressure from Man City.

“Proud of the boys,” Saka posted on his Instagram story alongside an image of Arsenal players in a rally at the Etihad Stadium, followed by a simple ‘thank you Gooners’ message to the club’s supporters.

Next up for Arsenal is a home tie with League One side Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening.

Top photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images