Arsenal walked away victorious the last weekend after a dominant performance saw us smash six goals past West Ham United away in East London in what was arguably one of our strongest performances of the season. Bukayo Saka scored again for the second game in a row and managed to bag two goals against West Ham, stepping up to the spot for his first after a great run from himself, and then curled a shot into the bottom corner of the net in the second half.
Saka went on some what of a dry streak in the first half of the season and hadn’t been producing as much as expected after such a solid season last year, but recently he’s looked like his old self and has been all around the goal contributions, picking up 5 goals and an assist in his last 6 games and has started to look back to his best after the warm weather training in January.
Gary Lineker has said he’s been very impressed with Saka lately and his decision making and said this after our win against West Ham “Bukayo Saka is worth a mention, another two goals. Obviously, one was a penalty but he’s a footballer that we’ve all admired”.
“He’s probably had, by his standards, a slight dip in form over the last few weeks. But the last few games, he’s been brilliant. I love his decision making with the ball. He’s one of those players, you know when you’re watching a game and you think, right give it there, and he does. And he always seems to make the right decisions”.
Which I personally agree with, Gary. Saka has had a dip in form but recently he looks to be back on fire and has been linking up well with his team. I really think the warm weather training brought our lads back together and gave them a chance to refresh and start again, and since then we’ve looked to be a different team with a lot of strength going forward.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand was also asked about Saka after the West Ham game and asked if he thinks he’s world class, and he said this “Not yet. Listen I think Saka’s been unreal. I actually think he needs a bit of a rest, so many games for a young kid. But I think, it’s almost like what is world class? He hasn’t done it in The Champions League, has he? I’m talking nitty-gritty stages. Saka’s top, don’t get me wrong. He’s not world class yet”.
Which I think is simply his personal opinion. Saka is growing into being a world class player and he may not be the best winger in the world, but he definitely is one of them and can become world class, as long as he keeps pushing and listening to advice that’s given. He’s surrounded by a great system and team that want him to thrive and with that, I think he will. Should he be rested more? Maybe. But he’s such a vital part of Arteta’s system, you just expect him to play week in, week out.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
