Arsenal have had a very strong start to their season having won nine out of their 10 Premier League games and all three of their Europa League group matches prior to their home clash against PSV Eindhoven.
One player that has been a predominant figure in the team for Mikel Arteta this season is Bukayo Saka.
Having appeared in all of Arsenal’s 13 games across the Premier League and Europa League this season, the winger has scored five goals and delivered four assists.
After the Gunners star recently ranked eighth in the Kopa Trophy alongside some of Europe’s other top young talents, Noel Whelan shared his thoughts to Football Insider on how Saka is viewed.
He said: “He deserves more recognition, not just in the Premier League but on an international level.
“He’s shot to fame in the past few years and there’s definitely a case to say that eighth is not a suitable ranking for the talent he has.
“He won’t worry too much about this. The fact that he’s in the top ten is a great credit to him, but he’ll be focused on what he’s doing for Arsenal.
“The World Cup is coming up too, so he’ll want to stay in good form for that too – because he’s got to be in the starting eleven.
“His goal against Leeds was fantastic – you’ve got to say it was a clinical finish.”
Looking at what Saka has done in the Premier League this season compared to other players in the division, he has had more shots at goal (24) than the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (23), Marcus Rashford (23), Bruno Fernandes (21) and Phil Foden (20).
He also has the second-highest number of goal-creating actions (10) and the joint-second highest number of carries into the 18-yard box (20) in the league.
Taking this into account, it’s easy to see why Whelan is full of praise for Saka and why he thinks he should be recognised as a top talent than he seemingly already is.
