Bukayo Saka scored after just 66 seconds in the win over Brighton (Picture: Getty)
Bukayo Saka admits Arsenal now have a ‘great opportunity’ to win the 2022-23 Premier League title after opening up a seven-point lead.
Saka scored as the Gunners beat Brighton 4-2 on New Year’s Eve while second-placed Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.
Those results mean that Arsenal head into 2023 with a remarkable seven-point lead over the champions, who have won four of the last five top-flight titles.
Arsenal are now just the fifth side in English top-flight history to pick up as many as 43 points from the first 16 games in a season.
The Gunners also scored in the opening two minutes of both halves in a single Premier League game for the first time since December 2013 against Hull.
After just 66 seconds, Saka scored Arsenal’s earliest away goal in the Premier League since May 2013 – when Theo Walcott netted after just 20 seconds against QPR – and the 21-year-old spoke to Sky Sports following Saturday’s victory.
‘[The seven-point lead] sounds amazing,’ Saka said. ‘Of course at the start of the season if you asked us if we wanted this we would bite your hand off.
‘We are really happy. There was big emphasis [on starting games quickly]. We know how hard it is to come here and weather as well it wasn’t easy.
‘That goal nice and early set us up. I couldn’t believe it fell for me. I just had to try and show some composure.
‘It is a great opportunity we have [to win the Premier League title] – a great place we have put ourselves in.
‘We are not focussing on that now. We are focussing on the next game because we know how well Newcastle have been playing.’
The Gunners face Eddie Howe’s third-placed side on January 3 before they come up against Tottenham and Manchester United.
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‘It is a great opportunity we have…’
