Leandro Trossard is confident every time Bukayo Saka has the ball he will make something happen as the Arsenal pair combined once again to open the scoring in Saturday’s win over Burnley.
Belgium forward Trossard has scored six goals this season and they have all been assisted by Saka, whose header to the back-post was bravely converted by his team-mate.
Arsenal won 3-1 to move second in the Premier League as William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko goals cancelled out Josh Brownhill’s equaliser for the visitors.
Mikel Arteta praised the “connection” Trossard has with his Arsenal colleagues but none is seemingly as strong as that he has with Saka.
“I don’t know why but every time B (Saka) is on the ball, I just know I need to make a movement or come close to him,” said Trossard.
“In this moment I just gambled on him winning the header and he did and that’s why I got the goal.”
Trossard risked injury to bundle home the opener, turning in Saka’s header from close-range before clattering into Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford and the post.
“In the moment I headed the ball I tried to protect myself,” he added.
“But I hit the post with my forearm and it was really painful but it’s okay and the pain has calmed down.
“It’s always nice to score a goal, of course, that helps your team to win a game and that’s what we did today so it was really important to go into the international break like this and we have done it.”
While the win sees the Gunners leapfrog north London rivals Tottenham, it condemned Burnley to a 10th defeat in their opening 12 games.
The Clarets have now lost five in a row in the league, shipping 14 goals and scoring just three in that time.
Brownhill drew them level for all of three minutes at the Emirates Stadium but the Burnley captain believes there is still plenty to take from recent performances heading into the international break.
“I think overall there’s a lot of positives to take but at the end of the day it’s a defeat, so everybody’s frustrated but like I say I think there’s a lot of positives in there,” he told the club’s official website.
“The confidence that we’ll take, even though the results haven’t gone our way, the performances have been really, really good. It was always going to take a little bit getting going.
“Now it’s time to rest, come back but we’ve got to start getting the results, that’s the main thing.
We can perform well as much as we want but the most important thing is the result and I believe in this team, what we can do and what we can achieve this season – so it won’t be long before we start getting the results we deserve.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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