Together with his first-half penalty and well-taken second in Sunday’s 6-0 win over West Ham, Bukayo Saka grew to become the youngest Arsenal participant within the Premier League period to hit the 50-goal mark.
The milestone was reached with one other excellent show from the academy graduate. Not that there was a lot self-congratulation afterwards. “I’m not sure I can be happy today,” he informed Sky Sports activities. “I missed some chances I could have scored.”
His feedback supplied a glimpse into the mentality driving his continued progress at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta, in the meantime, was keen to stress the magnitude of what he’s attaining at 22.
“At his age, the position and consistency normally don’t go in the same line,” stated the Arsenal supervisor in his press convention. “He is proving everybody wrong, that he can do it.”
His numbers for the season now stand at 13 objectives and 12 assists in 31 video games in all competitions, a mixed whole of 25 placing him behind solely six gamers, amongst them Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah, throughout Europe’s main leagues.
He’s in good firm in that record. Except the ludicrous Jude Bellingham, it’s value noting Saka, nonetheless six months shy of his twenty third birthday, is the youngest identify to characteristic.
Arteta has confronted questions in regards to the dangers of overplaying Saka within the final three seasons, a interval throughout which he has solely missed one Premier League sport. However his file speaks for itself.
In a complete of 210 appearances for Arsenal, he has scored 51 objectives and supplied 49 assists. Remarkably, it’s a superior return to Cristiano Ronaldo after the identical variety of video games.
It will be silly, in fact, to imagine he’ll due to this fact emulate the extraordinary achievements of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. However to be forward of him when it comes to objectives and assists is an unbelievable feat which additional underlines his world-class potential – if he’s not at that stage already, that’s.
There’s additional encouragement to be discovered when evaluating Saka’s file to these of a few of the Premier League’s finest broad forwards in more moderen years on the identical age.
Saka has supplied almost 40 per cent extra objectives and assists than Raheem Sterling, for instance, having performed one sport fewer than the previous Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis man.
His numbers eclipse these of Marcus Rashford, Leroy Sane and Heung-Min Son too. Salah, in the meantime, was but to even make a mark in a significant European league having performed for Swiss facet Basel till the age of 21, then been a bit-part participant at Chelsea.
For additional context, Salah’s former Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane was but to play in a significant European league in any respect having solely simply joined Southampton from Crimson Bull Salzburg at Saka’s age.
The Arsenal ahead is manner forward of schedule, comparatively, and his numbers are all of the extra spectacular given he was used largely as a left-back in his first 18 months within the facet.
“It took me a while to figure him out,” defined Arteta in dialog with Sky Sports activities in April 2021. “That’s why I tried to play him in different positions, to see how he reacted.
“I wanted to test his character as well because he was playing as a left-back and I know it wasn’t his ideal position, but he had to go through that period.”
Saka got here by way of it with flying colors, subsequently turning into an unmoveable presence on the right-hand facet of Arsenal’s assault. He has embraced the accountability of being a talismanic determine in a crew that is still considered one of youngest within the Premier League.
From one season to the following, his output has elevated considerably as his all-round sport has continued to enhance. Now, with three months of the present marketing campaign nonetheless to play, he’s on target to smash his earlier finest whole of 26 objectives and assists.
It’s a measure of how a lot we’ve come to count on from him that, even within the context of such spectacular numbers, his type has at instances come below scrutiny this season, most notably throughout a run of 1 aim in 11 Premier League video games earlier than Christmas.
However keep it up scoring and helping at his present price, with 14 Premier League video games nonetheless to play and as many as seven Champions League fixtures to return too, and Saka may find yourself with a complete north of 40.
His sample of enchancment turns into even clearer when wanting deeper into the numbers. This season, Saka is creating extra possibilities and taking extra pictures than at any level in his profession.
It is just pure, then, that he’s scoring and helping extra, particularly given the positions he’s entering into. His numbers for touches within the opposition field are trending in the identical path as Arteta frequently seeks to maximise his attacking risk.
There’ll come a degree when Saka’s minutes should be managed extra fastidiously in an effort to keep away from burnout and guarantee longevity. He has performed a unprecedented variety of minutes for somebody so younger. One other right-sided ahead will probably be wanted to share the load.
However at solely 22, and as decided as ever to proceed bettering, it appears Arsenal’s half-centurion is simply getting began. It’s a tantalising thought given the extent he has already reached.
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