‘WE HAV CHEMISTRY’
BY STEVE JUDGE
BUKAYO SAKA loves the way his connection with Kai Havertz is blossoming.
The England winger set up Havertz for Arsenal’s opening goal after 38 minutes with a cheeky lobbed pass over Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke. That was then surpassed by the German’s lob over Seagulls keeper Bart Verbruggen (below) to give Saka a third assist of the season.
Saka (with Havertz, above) said: “I really enjoy playing with him. He is a man who has some great movement, always in behind defenders.
“He is a big threat in the box so I try to look for him. He is on fire scoring goals right now, which hopefully he can continue.”
Saka held his hands up to the fact that Arsenal scored only once. He was guilty of missing early and late chances, and revealed boss Mikel Arteta had focused on that after the game.
Saka said: “When we have the game we have to finish it off, especially in the first half.”
The north London derby is next for Arsenal, and
Saka assured Arsenal fans their focus will not be impacted by the international break, adding: “We will be ready for that.”
Championship
BY IAN WINROW
JAYSON MOLUMBY admits his first goal in 16 months triggered a huge outpouring of relief.
The West Brom midfielder, 25, missed the second half of last season with a foot injury.
His first strike (below) since April 2023 helped draw a line under that frustrating lay-off – and provided the perfect boost for the Republic of Ireland international after a positive start to the campaign.
Molumby (above) said: “It’s been a long six or seven months for me. Even longer maybe since I’ve been out.
“I’m back in the team and the team’s winning so I’m buzzing, and that’s all we want to do as players, just win games.”
Molumby’s match-winner meant the Baggies lie second in the table after the opening four games. “We’re delighted with our start, there’s no denying it,” he said. “Our unbeaten start is great and we should have probably beaten Leeds as well, but it’s credit to the boys.
“We want to make The Hawthorns a tough place to come and we’ve done that in the first two games so it’s about building on that now and keeping going.”
Josh Key believes Swansea’s second-half display set the standard for the coming months.
The Swans defender said: “If we had come in at half-time 0-0, then I think we would have gone on to win that game, but we have to manage the games better and stay switched on for the whole 45 minutes of each half.
“The second half can sum up what we can do. West Brom will be a team right up there this season and we went head to head with them. We have to do that more consistently.”