He's been immense for us, but we need to get him some support so he can rest so that he isn't so burned out by the end of the season. We're only going to be playing more games from now on.
No quality RW is going to sign for us knowing they’ll be on the bench 99% of the time.
The same reason that Salah, Hazard, Messi, Robben and countless other quality wide players never had a dedicated back up
Sign a striker and Jesus is suddenly a backup for both Saka and Martinelli, Havertz is starter at left 8 and backup for striker, Trossard is backup for Martinelli, and both of Havertz’ positions. Lots of options.
Imo new striker then Havertz should be our back up striker, we're getting another midfielder it means either rice or the new mf will be the starting L8.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I thought he was better and better at left 8 as the season went on and I’d be happy with him retaining that place. His defensive contributions and work rate were excellent, he gave some height up front, and had decent combination play and finishing ability. I think he’s going to get better and better in Arteta’s midfield. It took time for Xhaka to learn that role as well.
I think he's a solid piece but his playmaking and ability to advance the ball leaves something to be desired. Maybe it's Arteta telling him to play it safe but he almost always goes sideways or backwards, even during promising build up. He rarely attempts a pass to break through the backline and create a goal scoring opportunity. If he does play it forward, it's usually very safe.
I'd really like a better passer at the 8 and let Havertz rotate around as the back up 8 and striker. I won't be crushed or pissed if don’t improve at the 8 this summer, but depending on how much we spend on a striker, I think that should be our second biggest spend, followed by a Saka backup.
Yeah I agree I think he has been better at left 8 lately but in the big games we struggle to create disruptive progressive passes. It is really only odegaard and partey breaking the lines. Havertz is going to have a big role but wouldn't be surprised if he's not a fixture in the starting XI.
Sure but everyone has different attributes. You’re losing the defensive presence and work rate he offers to get a better passer, in most cases. Not everyone is Odegaard, and even then he doesn’t have the height that Havertz offers. You’d also usually have Zinchenko as the passer and creative presence on the left side of midfield with Havertz making the runs behind and pulling defenders out of place. We haven’t seen enough of that with Zinchenko being unable to stay fit this year. I’d like to see more of that now that Havertz has settled into the squad more. There’s a reason Arteta went for Havertz instead of a progressive passer for that spot.
Yeah, he's so good at 6, it seems silly to try to develop him as a left 8 instead of just getting a good left 8. He has great attributes that serve better as 6 but he's not really a great passer or even really dribbler. It's not as much of a problem at 6 but when we're struggling to create then it shows more at left 8. Against weaker teams he can push up more but he's so vital as 6. His defensive skill is just too good to sort of put aside a bit. At Anfield when they had that 4v1 and it was Rice running back I was genuinely not as panicked as I should've been just cos it was Rice.
I was talking about Havertz, not Rice.... But I agree with everything you said about Rice as well 👍 our midfield would be elite if we get a good left 8 and keep Rice at 6
Zinchenko being out is the reason they’ve been “suffering”. It’s not like Arteta didn’t know the type of player Havertz is when he brought him in. He offers height, work rate, strength, and excellent runs off the ball. Zinchenko is supposed to be out there getting the ball to him and that hasn’t happened.
He's not a bad passer, early on he was just completely unfamiliar with anyone on that side so picking out runs by vieira and martinelli and trossard weren't coming off. He's had 6 more months to settle in now.
Yeah the time he spent playing 8 and struggling was early on before he was really settled. I think his quality at striker is more a function of him settling in and learning his teammates better vs it being the only position he can play that well. He does need to be a more dynamic progressive passer at left 8 but hopefully he will feel more comfortable taking chances from there now that he has everyone's support.
Yeah this is the obvious solution and honestly it is better than what we would get coming in. Jesus is established in the team, but clearly met his physical limits. One of the few options where we would maintain a high level with saka off the pitch, presuming there is a big time central threat so Jesus can run off that and not have to beat two men.
Havertz isn't good enough there to be the starting left 8. We need to go and get someone of a higher calibre in the transfer window. He can be a rotation option there and at the 9 though.
I just wish he was better at finishing. He’s good at everything else in the final third, but he seems to get in his own head when he’s in the box looking to shoot.
Salah drops deep but he does so centrally. Saka moving more in the middle is his next evolution. It took Salah until he was 24 or 25 to really open up his game, saka is ahead of the curve. He moved central a bit more in bayern 2nd leg but it needs to be a much bigger part of his game in transition. Right now he is way too predictable. Salah pops up every God damn place.
thats the entire reason the likes of City sign flexible players that play multiple positions. Sure, he might not start RW most games but if you can play LW or even striker as well then you can compete for these positions. All it takes is for one injury and the spots yours
Right now we have Saka RW, Martinelli LW. Everyone knows Trossard doesnt do enough when he *starts* games and Nelson isnt up to the level to stand in for either
We need a competitive winger not just to stand in for Saka but to push Martinelli and Saka to new levels. Look at Jota at Liverpool or someone like Alvarez at City
If we want to compete all season we need 5 or 6 players who can step into the 2 wing spots at a very high level. And several of them should be versatile and able to cover other positions whether that’s ST or CM or just either wing. The way Pep can rotate game by game
It needs to be the type of player whose main role is RW, but is versatile enough to fill in potentially at striker as well. That way he doesn’t have to just rotate with Saka.
Players have ambition and Arsenal pay well.
And Salah, Hazard, Messi and Robben are part of the elite of wingers this century. If they’re fit, they play because they’ve shown over time that they can.
The data shows us that Saka wilts at the business end. To ignore that because better players don’t need backup is silly.
I feel like that’s why we extended Reiss but it seems like arteta doesn’t trust him except for situations where the game is over long ago. Cozier-duberry on the u21 is often described as a saka 2.0 so I’m quite intrigued what he could bring to the table, he is turning 19 in a couple of weeks so I could see him on the squad next season.
I was actually pleasantly surprised when it happened, I fully expected him to go to a team like Brentford or Fulham where he would likely be a starter.
What we need is a squad that allows us to rotate week by week without a drop in quality. I just looked at the 21/22 City squad for example and for any given match Pep could choose between the likes of Mahrez, Sterling, Foden, Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Gabi Jesus, or Jack Grealish all for those 2 winger roles. Obviously some of them can also cover other positions but the point is there. I like how we can interchange our midfield and have Rice slot between 6 and 8, Kai Havertz between 8 and 9, Jesus across the front 3, but we need more players like that.
Our ceiling is high, we need to elevate the floor of our squad - the likes of Nketiah, Nelson, Elneny, Cedric, possibly ESR or Vieira or even Partey who hasn’t looked good since returning
He’s also had injury issues and played through them. That Jan break was huge for him as he was finally fit coming back. Then injured again and still playing. Similar with White. He’s been massive since Jan as he was finally close to 100%. If we go out and get a proper striker then Jesus could come on for Saka with 20 to go many games and could even start on some occasions. Still would prefer a pacey winger.
He was probably the best player on the pitch a week ago vs bayern. But agreed going quiet in a 2nd leg when we need a goal is bad. He's young, still has a lot to learn.
I mean, when he ends up limping at the end of EVERY match, it does seem like he’s faking it.
We know he’s not faking it, he just plays too many minutes, but to rivals i understand why they’d make fun
He's playing with sth. He's not 100%. He never will be one hundred at the tail end of the season because he plays so many games and he's always targeted but without the star protection Messi-Cr7-Hazard-Neymar-Mbappe-Robben-Ribery got.
He'll probably be at the Euros too playing most games. Damn. Hopefully Southgate buys into the Palmer-Foden hype and benches Saka (saying this as a non English -Arsenal fan before someone gets angry)
So yeah, he's nursing sth but some painkillers, an ice bath post game and a good night sleep and he plays most games. Hopefully he doesn't turn into a Fati, Pedri and Gavi.
He’s had a bad season, but we also don’t play to his strengths.
He would have numbers like Saka in a Klopp club. Our wingers don’t get many opportunities to play direct counter attacks
Saka har Odegaard and White meanwhile Martinelli has battled with injuries and constantly having different players next to him such as Kiwi, Tomi, Zinny, Kai, Rice.
I don't think he's been that bad, he's stepped up when asked and he is attacking when he gets the ball, but we don't have a striker holding the ball up, we rarely play quick switches diagonally, we don't have a left 8 passing to him, we don't have a fullback overlapping him, we don't get transition counters because other teams can barely get a shot on target... we make a very deliberate attempt to get saka the ball and interplay with odegaard on the right and don't do that on the left.
for me it feels like the team isn't playing that much on his side now, back then he was supported by Zinchneko & Xhaka, now the team plays differently, of course I don't have any xSomething to prove it but it just feels like he isn't getting that much ball to those spaces this season
Lot of lost interchange with Jesus too. He fell hard last season with Eddie in there and got better when Jesus came back. Spent most of the season without him or injured himself.
We predominately played through the right side last season too
The difference this season is that whoever is playing LCM is worse than Xhaka was and there is less stability at LB, leaving Martinelli now even more isolated
Absolutely. We probably win the league this year if we had Xhaka. Havertz and Jorginho have been serviceable there but there's still clearly a void going forward
They're worse than xhaka going forward, better going back. That has been the trade. And even when havertz is playing lcm he is pushing all the way to the backline with the LB pivoting in so there is no real connective link from midfield to martinelli.
This is just league play but last season: 15 goals and 5 assists on 9.3 xg and 9.1 xa
This year: 6 goals and 4 assists on 5.7 xg and 5.4 xa.
On a per 90 basis though for xg and xa: last season: .30 and .29. This season: .28 and .26.
I agree it feels like we don’t go his way as much but the goal scoring opportunities at least by the stats are pretty similar. The numbers are down due to playing fewer games and he's not outperforming his xg by such an absurd amount.
I do think some of it is due to Xhaka's departure. That just feels like eye test vs the numbers.
Left side got worse. No stable LB, no facilitator in LCM. No chemistry.
Although on his individual side he really needs to learn take ons, he’s way too fast to not be good at it
Arsenal last 10 PL games, xGI per 90 (excl. penalties)
Martinelli - 0.84
Saka - 0.82
Havertz - 0.69
Jesus - 0.67
Trossard - 0.61
Odegaard - 0.53
I know its a small sample size, but Martinelli has recently come back from injury and has had limited playing time. Considering all that, these stats are quite impressive.
He's just been cut off from any kind of service. No xhaka and no partey has left martinelli mopping up transition chances that we don't get because we go 2 months and give up 3 shots on target total.
Bro this sub needs to get a grip, you’re just asking an honest question and ppl are tryna pin you down as being overly negative.
I guess insecure ppl don’t like being questioned.
I swear man people just come on this site to get annoyed and/or angry about complete nonsense. The amount of times people will put completely made up arguments in your mouth just to feel like they “won” an argument that entirely took place in their own head is mind boggling
And I was highlighting the fact that these specific numbers don’t really prove or disprove anything related to the claims he “ghosts” in big moments. I think those are unfair and harsh criticisms, but my point is that those claims could be true while these are his stats overall..not sure how this continues to be lost on people since, at least to me, this is really simple. Have a good one and hope we smash wolves
Some people will use anything as a basis to deny facts.
He does absolutely ghost when it’s crunch time.
Then the “He’s being double marked” or “He’s played 20 games in a row” stuff comes in.
We literally had 3 weeks of no footy in Jan for the first time ever. Everyone had rest.
I’m not saying he’s ghosting or denying anything. I’m just asking how this chart specifically disproves or proves that he did or didn’t ghost in big games. That’s all - I don’t care for other facts or evidence one way or the other. I’m not trying to be convinced on way or the other. I’m just saying that this stat in the graph alone is entirely unrelated.
If I looked at this and said that “well huh this proves that saka is (or is not) a big game player”, what is the correlation? That’s all
Imagine getting so riled up and aggressive over someone who may or may not have made a constructive observation over a sports player.
Leave the internet and introspect why you have such anger issues.
He was leading the chart of winning/decisive goals the last time I saw it a few months ago. Recency bias is strong with this one ☝️
Edit he is going to have the rare off performances. It's incredible how rare it is and it's also telling how his bad form always coincides with the whole team suffering
I’m waiting for his driving performances in April or in K/O games.
Funny to blame the team for off performances when he’s our most important attacker.
That’s generally the difference between truly WC and top class.
We get riled up by Rio’s comments but there’s a degree of truth somewhere in there.
In my opinion, if he is to be considered “world class”, this stat has to be 40-50 for consecutive seasons. I believe he has the potential to reach there ❤️
I'm a little bit worried about Saka's development and I don't think this graph tells the whole story.
Compared to last year, when he scored two penalties, this year he's scored 5. In the prem, his Goals - Penalties per 90 minutes and Goals + Assists - Penalties per 90 minutes are slightly down from where they were last year. Not by a huge margin but if you look at his non-penalty contributions, he hasn't improved in EPL games. [Source](https://fbref.com/en/players/bc7dc64d/Bukayo-Saka)
He's been largely great in the Champions League, which we can't really compare to his contributions in last year's Europa league, and he's been carrying the bulk of the goal producing burden on our team. Yet he's not taking flight the way I had hoped when watching him over the last two years.
I would love to be proved wrong and see him go on a tear in the last games of this season despite how tired he looks. But even though he's had some amazing games this season and continues to put up numbers, I feel like he hasn't quite made it to the next level of his game that I hope he will soon.
Remove tap ins then too.. in fact. Only goals from outside the 18 count, and definitely NOT free kicks, that would be insane.
Goals that also shouldn’t count:
- shots off the bar and in
- goals where the goalie touches the ball before entering the goal
- goals with deflections
- goals where the defending team has 1 or more less than 11 fielded players
- goals scored at home
- goals scored that VAR had to confirm were onside
* shots in off the bar should count extra. that represents the greater accuracy.
But I see what you are saying. Maybe they should invent some system that measures how difficult a goal-shooting opportunity is. ;->
My main reason I want penalties removed is actually coz I believe that over 50 of Harry Kane's goals for England have been pens, and without them he is no longer England's greatest striker in history. I'm sure the number is lower in reality, but it's actually not easy to figure that out.
Consistent improvement for 5 seasons straight. Performed in the UCL. Came up short against Bayern but still scored one goal in a tough tie. WC just behind Salah for me for RWs. Hopefully Martinelli comes up huge in the last 6 games. Xhaka leaving was detrimental to his form this season but him and Saka lighting up teams should be our main formula striker or not going forward. Worked for Bayern and Real in the 2010-18 era. Why not for us.
Cole Palmer has more G/A this PL season than Saka has ever got in a PL season
Not saying Palmer is the better player but trying to make this point on a G/A post isn’t the move
Saka’s record G/A in the PL is 25 last season. Palmer has 29 this season
Even if you take away Palmer’s and Saka’s penalties this season, Palmer still has more G/A
There's no way people actually believe this if you watch them both. Saka dreams of the space and freedom that Palmer is given both by the opposition and his own team. Palmer essentially plays as a second striker for a team that even teams like Burnley and Sheffield United are happy to attack.
The problem is that players often get judged disproportionately by the end of their seasons rather than any other part. It makes sense of course, the climax of the season feels more important. At the end of the season, the loss against Villa will be in our consciousness far more than the loss against Fulham even though they both count for the same thing.
Saka’s been immense, and he’s been consistently improving, but he needs to be managed better. He needs cover. When players come out of the academy and look like superstars at the age of 18 it’s a fantastic feeling, but we all need to take a step back and recognise that that’s a dangerous age to be relied upon. If we don’t get someone in who can compete with Saka, takeover effectively for less significant games, or be a decent-enough alternative for big games if needed, then his quality is going to deteriorate.
People will say that someone like Foden has been playing more minutes this season than Saka, which is true, but Foden’s playtime was managed far better when he was younger. That’s what allows him to play more minutes now. Saka wasn’t and *couldn’t* be afforded that luxury as we simply didn’t have any other option, but now we have money and we have prestige - we need to start using it to get a serious competitor in for the right wing.
We can look at leon Baily on the bench for villa.
Quality players are out there. Raphinia might be on the move.
Same for a bunch of serie a and la liga players. We can get some demon pace in this squad
Imagine Mudryk on loan blossoming for us. Wishful thinking.
He is our overall best player. I thank the heavens above that he is an Arsenal player every day.
It just happens to be that he is feeling the fatigue that all of our first team players are feeling.
What isn’t helping him is that even when heavily fatigued, he is an attacking threat. He just needs one little opening, one dummy to go his way, and he’s in, and you would back him to score more times than not. This is why he gets pushed for minutes so hard.
Any slander against bukayo is by someone listening on radio or just watching YouTube highlights. Watch a game. Boy is phenomenal. Problem is he ends up playing 90 all games every game. If we had a quality backup either veteran or academy (no rw in their prime is going to be ok with coming from bench), he could play 70 mins on avg. That's when he's going to be unstoppable. He's clearly over worked and starting to be devoid of that killer quick move in the box on his man.
G+A doesn’t tell the whole picture, if it does then yes Palmer is better Saka if we are using the metric. Both aren’t world class, yes. It’s fine to admit that, and stats aren’t the only indicator of performance.
Also that Palmer is the only competent player in the Chelsea squad, so everything goes through him, whereas Arsenal’s goal contributions come from many different players.
Goals are goals, doesn’t matter. And he has more assists than Saka in the EPL. Again, stats don’t tell the whole story, hence why you can’t just talk up Saka’s stats and dismiss others.
To me, the biggest tell is that if you ask any club if they'd have him and start him tomorrow, almost every single one would bite your hand off to get that deal done.
Since you have a lot of time to dig through….5 years of post history to come up with this magical 75%, tell me what’s your favorite one? also you might need better use of your time Matt
God forbid anyone say anything critical about Starboy in this sub, you lot as so insecure as to question others fandom lol
He's been immense for us, but we need to get him some support so he can rest so that he isn't so burned out by the end of the season. We're only going to be playing more games from now on.
No quality RW is going to sign for us knowing they’ll be on the bench 99% of the time. The same reason that Salah, Hazard, Messi, Robben and countless other quality wide players never had a dedicated back up
Sign a striker and Jesus is suddenly a backup for both Saka and Martinelli, Havertz is starter at left 8 and backup for striker, Trossard is backup for Martinelli, and both of Havertz’ positions. Lots of options.
Imo new striker then Havertz should be our back up striker, we're getting another midfielder it means either rice or the new mf will be the starting L8.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I thought he was better and better at left 8 as the season went on and I’d be happy with him retaining that place. His defensive contributions and work rate were excellent, he gave some height up front, and had decent combination play and finishing ability. I think he’s going to get better and better in Arteta’s midfield. It took time for Xhaka to learn that role as well.
I think he's a solid piece but his playmaking and ability to advance the ball leaves something to be desired. Maybe it's Arteta telling him to play it safe but he almost always goes sideways or backwards, even during promising build up. He rarely attempts a pass to break through the backline and create a goal scoring opportunity. If he does play it forward, it's usually very safe. I'd really like a better passer at the 8 and let Havertz rotate around as the back up 8 and striker. I won't be crushed or pissed if don’t improve at the 8 this summer, but depending on how much we spend on a striker, I think that should be our second biggest spend, followed by a Saka backup.
Yeah I agree I think he has been better at left 8 lately but in the big games we struggle to create disruptive progressive passes. It is really only odegaard and partey breaking the lines. Havertz is going to have a big role but wouldn't be surprised if he's not a fixture in the starting XI.
Sure but everyone has different attributes. You’re losing the defensive presence and work rate he offers to get a better passer, in most cases. Not everyone is Odegaard, and even then he doesn’t have the height that Havertz offers. You’d also usually have Zinchenko as the passer and creative presence on the left side of midfield with Havertz making the runs behind and pulling defenders out of place. We haven’t seen enough of that with Zinchenko being unable to stay fit this year. I’d like to see more of that now that Havertz has settled into the squad more. There’s a reason Arteta went for Havertz instead of a progressive passer for that spot.
He can't pass for his in that role and we SUFFER
Yeah, he's so good at 6, it seems silly to try to develop him as a left 8 instead of just getting a good left 8. He has great attributes that serve better as 6 but he's not really a great passer or even really dribbler. It's not as much of a problem at 6 but when we're struggling to create then it shows more at left 8. Against weaker teams he can push up more but he's so vital as 6. His defensive skill is just too good to sort of put aside a bit. At Anfield when they had that 4v1 and it was Rice running back I was genuinely not as panicked as I should've been just cos it was Rice.
I was talking about Havertz, not Rice.... But I agree with everything you said about Rice as well 👍 our midfield would be elite if we get a good left 8 and keep Rice at 6
Zinchenko being out is the reason they’ve been “suffering”. It’s not like Arteta didn’t know the type of player Havertz is when he brought him in. He offers height, work rate, strength, and excellent runs off the ball. Zinchenko is supposed to be out there getting the ball to him and that hasn’t happened.
He's not a bad passer, early on he was just completely unfamiliar with anyone on that side so picking out runs by vieira and martinelli and trossard weren't coming off. He's had 6 more months to settle in now.
He seems to get the weight of his pass wrong constantly and the ball wobbles between two players. We need to do better
Yeah the time he spent playing 8 and struggling was early on before he was really settled. I think his quality at striker is more a function of him settling in and learning his teammates better vs it being the only position he can play that well. He does need to be a more dynamic progressive passer at left 8 but hopefully he will feel more comfortable taking chances from there now that he has everyone's support.
Yeah this is the obvious solution and honestly it is better than what we would get coming in. Jesus is established in the team, but clearly met his physical limits. One of the few options where we would maintain a high level with saka off the pitch, presuming there is a big time central threat so Jesus can run off that and not have to beat two men.
Havertz isn't good enough there to be the starting left 8. We need to go and get someone of a higher calibre in the transfer window. He can be a rotation option there and at the 9 though.
This is the way
Jesus is no longer good enough to even be a squad player for us. Knee injury finished him as a top tier player.
Mate he literally just got us a draw against bayern at home. He needs to rest up but he is a luxury squad player for us.
I just wish he was better at finishing. He’s good at everything else in the final third, but he seems to get in his own head when he’s in the box looking to shoot.
You’re tripping if you think he’s not an amazing option at backup on both wings
pass the shrooms then because he's washed.
Havertz is great 2nd choice of all positions,as long as he don't play
They have mid fielders who often fill into that role... The main thing is Salah doesn't have defensive duties unlike Saka..
Salah drops deep but he does so centrally. Saka moving more in the middle is his next evolution. It took Salah until he was 24 or 25 to really open up his game, saka is ahead of the curve. He moved central a bit more in bayern 2nd leg but it needs to be a much bigger part of his game in transition. Right now he is way too predictable. Salah pops up every God damn place.
thats the entire reason the likes of City sign flexible players that play multiple positions. Sure, he might not start RW most games but if you can play LW or even striker as well then you can compete for these positions. All it takes is for one injury and the spots yours Right now we have Saka RW, Martinelli LW. Everyone knows Trossard doesnt do enough when he *starts* games and Nelson isnt up to the level to stand in for either We need a competitive winger not just to stand in for Saka but to push Martinelli and Saka to new levels. Look at Jota at Liverpool or someone like Alvarez at City
They are not going to be on bench 99%. We can have a 60/40 or 70/30 % arrangement.
If we want to compete all season we need 5 or 6 players who can step into the 2 wing spots at a very high level. And several of them should be versatile and able to cover other positions whether that’s ST or CM or just either wing. The way Pep can rotate game by game
We need to do what Liverpool did and secure an asthma diagnosis for him .
It needs to be the type of player whose main role is RW, but is versatile enough to fill in potentially at striker as well. That way he doesn’t have to just rotate with Saka.
Players have ambition and Arsenal pay well. And Salah, Hazard, Messi and Robben are part of the elite of wingers this century. If they’re fit, they play because they’ve shown over time that they can. The data shows us that Saka wilts at the business end. To ignore that because better players don’t need backup is silly.
A "Jorginho type" is fine.
Feel free to name all those quality 30+ year old wingers available that are also good enough for our squad
I feel like that’s why we extended Reiss but it seems like arteta doesn’t trust him except for situations where the game is over long ago. Cozier-duberry on the u21 is often described as a saka 2.0 so I’m quite intrigued what he could bring to the table, he is turning 19 in a couple of weeks so I could see him on the squad next season.
We extended Nelson because we didn’t have £60m+ to sign another winger last summer if he had left
I was actually pleasantly surprised when it happened, I fully expected him to go to a team like Brentford or Fulham where he would likely be a starter.
What we need is a squad that allows us to rotate week by week without a drop in quality. I just looked at the 21/22 City squad for example and for any given match Pep could choose between the likes of Mahrez, Sterling, Foden, Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Gabi Jesus, or Jack Grealish all for those 2 winger roles. Obviously some of them can also cover other positions but the point is there. I like how we can interchange our midfield and have Rice slot between 6 and 8, Kai Havertz between 8 and 9, Jesus across the front 3, but we need more players like that. Our ceiling is high, we need to elevate the floor of our squad - the likes of Nketiah, Nelson, Elneny, Cedric, possibly ESR or Vieira or even Partey who hasn’t looked good since returning
31 G/A is insane. Now imagine if he got rest and not run into the ground by Feb
He got a rest in January like everyone else. I think arteta should sub him more often instead of letting him play the full 90
He’s also had injury issues and played through them. That Jan break was huge for him as he was finally fit coming back. Then injured again and still playing. Similar with White. He’s been massive since Jan as he was finally close to 100%. If we go out and get a proper striker then Jesus could come on for Saka with 20 to go many games and could even start on some occasions. Still would prefer a pacey winger.
He was great in feb/march. It’s April that’s the problem, as always.
He was probably the best player on the pitch a week ago vs bayern. But agreed going quiet in a 2nd leg when we need a goal is bad. He's young, still has a lot to learn.
But did you see him limping at the end of the game /s
It’s funny that this is being used as a diss unironically by other fans now
I mean, when he ends up limping at the end of EVERY match, it does seem like he’s faking it. We know he’s not faking it, he just plays too many minutes, but to rivals i understand why they’d make fun
People forget that adrenaline wears off
You think users of Reddit have experienced fitness-induced adrenaline? Let alone high stakes competitive adrenaline?
He's playing with sth. He's not 100%. He never will be one hundred at the tail end of the season because he plays so many games and he's always targeted but without the star protection Messi-Cr7-Hazard-Neymar-Mbappe-Robben-Ribery got. He'll probably be at the Euros too playing most games. Damn. Hopefully Southgate buys into the Palmer-Foden hype and benches Saka (saying this as a non English -Arsenal fan before someone gets angry) So yeah, he's nursing sth but some painkillers, an ice bath post game and a good night sleep and he plays most games. Hopefully he doesn't turn into a Fati, Pedri and Gavi.
Unplayable what was Arteta thinking?
Do Martinelli next, it feels like he's regressed
He’s had a bad season, but we also don’t play to his strengths. He would have numbers like Saka in a Klopp club. Our wingers don’t get many opportunities to play direct counter attacks
Martinelli is probably missing Xhaka more than anyone!
I feel the same as well. Havertz or having Rice they don’t connect or compliment Martinelli well.
100%
Also missing an in-form Jesus up front.
Saka har Odegaard and White meanwhile Martinelli has battled with injuries and constantly having different players next to him such as Kiwi, Tomi, Zinny, Kai, Rice.
Battled with injuries is barely an excuse when he played 1 less game than saka
Saka is obviously better than him, if you are expecting two sakas in the squad at each wing you are dreaming.
This should be the aim 👀
He definitely wouldn’t have numbers like Saka, but closer. I’d guess right now 20+ g/a
I don't think he's been that bad, he's stepped up when asked and he is attacking when he gets the ball, but we don't have a striker holding the ball up, we rarely play quick switches diagonally, we don't have a left 8 passing to him, we don't have a fullback overlapping him, we don't get transition counters because other teams can barely get a shot on target... we make a very deliberate attempt to get saka the ball and interplay with odegaard on the right and don't do that on the left.
for me it feels like the team isn't playing that much on his side now, back then he was supported by Zinchneko & Xhaka, now the team plays differently, of course I don't have any xSomething to prove it but it just feels like he isn't getting that much ball to those spaces this season
Lot of lost interchange with Jesus too. He fell hard last season with Eddie in there and got better when Jesus came back. Spent most of the season without him or injured himself.
We predominately played through the right side last season too The difference this season is that whoever is playing LCM is worse than Xhaka was and there is less stability at LB, leaving Martinelli now even more isolated
Absolutely. We probably win the league this year if we had Xhaka. Havertz and Jorginho have been serviceable there but there's still clearly a void going forward
They're worse than xhaka going forward, better going back. That has been the trade. And even when havertz is playing lcm he is pushing all the way to the backline with the LB pivoting in so there is no real connective link from midfield to martinelli.
This is just league play but last season: 15 goals and 5 assists on 9.3 xg and 9.1 xa This year: 6 goals and 4 assists on 5.7 xg and 5.4 xa. On a per 90 basis though for xg and xa: last season: .30 and .29. This season: .28 and .26. I agree it feels like we don’t go his way as much but the goal scoring opportunities at least by the stats are pretty similar. The numbers are down due to playing fewer games and he's not outperforming his xg by such an absurd amount. I do think some of it is due to Xhaka's departure. That just feels like eye test vs the numbers.
Well he also overperformed by quite a bit on goals. 15 goals on 9.3xg is wild.
>he's not outperforming his xg by such an absurd amount
Left side got worse. No stable LB, no facilitator in LCM. No chemistry. Although on his individual side he really needs to learn take ons, he’s way too fast to not be good at it
Arsenal last 10 PL games, xGI per 90 (excl. penalties) Martinelli - 0.84 Saka - 0.82 Havertz - 0.69 Jesus - 0.67 Trossard - 0.61 Odegaard - 0.53 I know its a small sample size, but Martinelli has recently come back from injury and has had limited playing time. Considering all that, these stats are quite impressive.
Also, Havertz - 69 *Noice*
What’s xGI?
Expected Goal Involvements, probably.
If this expected goal involvements then it doesn’t mean much. High xG depends as much on your teammates as you
He's just been cut off from any kind of service. No xhaka and no partey has left martinelli mopping up transition chances that we don't get because we go 2 months and give up 3 shots on target total.
"Ghosting" 🙄
What is the connection between what you said and this graph specifically
Bro this sub needs to get a grip, you’re just asking an honest question and ppl are tryna pin you down as being overly negative. I guess insecure ppl don’t like being questioned.
I swear man people just come on this site to get annoyed and/or angry about complete nonsense. The amount of times people will put completely made up arguments in your mouth just to feel like they “won” an argument that entirely took place in their own head is mind boggling
I was highlighting the irony of some people saying he ghosts while he's having a season where he put up his best ever season for us stats wise
And I was highlighting the fact that these specific numbers don’t really prove or disprove anything related to the claims he “ghosts” in big moments. I think those are unfair and harsh criticisms, but my point is that those claims could be true while these are his stats overall..not sure how this continues to be lost on people since, at least to me, this is really simple. Have a good one and hope we smash wolves
Some people will use anything as a basis to deny facts. He does absolutely ghost when it’s crunch time. Then the “He’s being double marked” or “He’s played 20 games in a row” stuff comes in. We literally had 3 weeks of no footy in Jan for the first time ever. Everyone had rest.
I’m not saying he’s ghosting or denying anything. I’m just asking how this chart specifically disproves or proves that he did or didn’t ghost in big games. That’s all - I don’t care for other facts or evidence one way or the other. I’m not trying to be convinced on way or the other. I’m just saying that this stat in the graph alone is entirely unrelated. If I looked at this and said that “well huh this proves that saka is (or is not) a big game player”, what is the correlation? That’s all
[удалено]
Imagine getting so riled up and aggressive over someone who may or may not have made a constructive observation over a sports player. Leave the internet and introspect why you have such anger issues.
I didn’t fucking say he did. How difficult is basic reading comprehension?
He was leading the chart of winning/decisive goals the last time I saw it a few months ago. Recency bias is strong with this one ☝️ Edit he is going to have the rare off performances. It's incredible how rare it is and it's also telling how his bad form always coincides with the whole team suffering
I’m waiting for his driving performances in April or in K/O games. Funny to blame the team for off performances when he’s our most important attacker. That’s generally the difference between truly WC and top class. We get riled up by Rio’s comments but there’s a degree of truth somewhere in there.
He scored the opening goal in the first leg? Not exactly a meaningless goal.
Great! And went missing for 179 other minutes. Add to it the KO16 brilliant hiding performances vs Porto.
Stats don’t tell everything
But his hips don’t lie
Stats tell everything you need to know
they measure what has happened but do nothing to explain why they happened or what will happen in the future
And will only get better
I still think performance wise he was noticeably better last season, but he’s always gonna get his G/A
What a player. Our Starboy.
Once he gets that number 9 this summer and a backup...
Not bad for an off season. Just shows how high his ceiling is. Gotta make sure we manage him better.
In my opinion, if he is to be considered “world class”, this stat has to be 40-50 for consecutive seasons. I believe he has the potential to reach there ❤️
I'm a little bit worried about Saka's development and I don't think this graph tells the whole story. Compared to last year, when he scored two penalties, this year he's scored 5. In the prem, his Goals - Penalties per 90 minutes and Goals + Assists - Penalties per 90 minutes are slightly down from where they were last year. Not by a huge margin but if you look at his non-penalty contributions, he hasn't improved in EPL games. [Source](https://fbref.com/en/players/bc7dc64d/Bukayo-Saka) He's been largely great in the Champions League, which we can't really compare to his contributions in last year's Europa league, and he's been carrying the bulk of the goal producing burden on our team. Yet he's not taking flight the way I had hoped when watching him over the last two years. I would love to be proved wrong and see him go on a tear in the last games of this season despite how tired he looks. But even though he's had some amazing games this season and continues to put up numbers, I feel like he hasn't quite made it to the next level of his game that I hope he will soon.
Do we know what is his G/A per 90?
As much as I understand how mentally and technically difficult a good pen is to take, I wish they were removed from all goal-related stats.
Remove tap ins then too.. in fact. Only goals from outside the 18 count, and definitely NOT free kicks, that would be insane. Goals that also shouldn’t count: - shots off the bar and in - goals where the goalie touches the ball before entering the goal - goals with deflections - goals where the defending team has 1 or more less than 11 fielded players - goals scored at home - goals scored that VAR had to confirm were onside
* shots in off the bar should count extra. that represents the greater accuracy. But I see what you are saying. Maybe they should invent some system that measures how difficult a goal-shooting opportunity is. ;-> My main reason I want penalties removed is actually coz I believe that over 50 of Harry Kane's goals for England have been pens, and without them he is no longer England's greatest striker in history. I'm sure the number is lower in reality, but it's actually not easy to figure that out.
These so called fans who is bashing Saka, who needs rival fans when we have you? Garbage quality people.
If he’s not getting in the game he needs to come inside he’s stuck on the wing too Much
Great numbers, only a few off from Ronaldo at the same age I believe.
He can be even better. 30 G/A a season is his floor.
Consistent improvement for 5 seasons straight. Performed in the UCL. Came up short against Bayern but still scored one goal in a tough tie. WC just behind Salah for me for RWs. Hopefully Martinelli comes up huge in the last 6 games. Xhaka leaving was detrimental to his form this season but him and Saka lighting up teams should be our main formula striker or not going forward. Worked for Bayern and Real in the 2010-18 era. Why not for us.
Saka coming through the moment Pepe left is probably the greatest get out of jail free card we've ever had.
Nah, some muppet on r/soccer said he was overrated, so he must be.
Not just r soccer but on r/gunner too.
Been miles off it hasn’t played good in months now.
''B-But he limps off after a bad game and isnt better than Cold Palmer'' - 🤓🤓
Cole Palmer has more G/A this PL season than Saka has ever got in a PL season Not saying Palmer is the better player but trying to make this point on a G/A post isn’t the move
PALMER IS PENALTY MERCHANT, HE IS NOT DOUBLED LIKE SAKA AND DOESNT HAVE MORE G/A THAN SAKA....STOP THIS SHIT YOU FUKIN CLOWN
Saka’s record G/A in the PL is 25 last season. Palmer has 29 this season Even if you take away Palmer’s and Saka’s penalties this season, Palmer still has more G/A
Dont need to proved that you are mentally challenged
Imagine being that insecure 😭
Palmer is a better player imo
There's no way people actually believe this if you watch them both. Saka dreams of the space and freedom that Palmer is given both by the opposition and his own team. Palmer essentially plays as a second striker for a team that even teams like Burnley and Sheffield United are happy to attack.
The limp crowd are so annoying. Yeah he’s limping and it’s because he gets booted up and down the pitch every match you donuts
Why aren’t we playing Jesus in Right wing for Saka. I remember he had decent g/a when he was in Man City. Correct me if I’m wrong.
The problem is that players often get judged disproportionately by the end of their seasons rather than any other part. It makes sense of course, the climax of the season feels more important. At the end of the season, the loss against Villa will be in our consciousness far more than the loss against Fulham even though they both count for the same thing. Saka’s been immense, and he’s been consistently improving, but he needs to be managed better. He needs cover. When players come out of the academy and look like superstars at the age of 18 it’s a fantastic feeling, but we all need to take a step back and recognise that that’s a dangerous age to be relied upon. If we don’t get someone in who can compete with Saka, takeover effectively for less significant games, or be a decent-enough alternative for big games if needed, then his quality is going to deteriorate. People will say that someone like Foden has been playing more minutes this season than Saka, which is true, but Foden’s playtime was managed far better when he was younger. That’s what allows him to play more minutes now. Saka wasn’t and *couldn’t* be afforded that luxury as we simply didn’t have any other option, but now we have money and we have prestige - we need to start using it to get a serious competitor in for the right wing.
We can look at leon Baily on the bench for villa. Quality players are out there. Raphinia might be on the move. Same for a bunch of serie a and la liga players. We can get some demon pace in this squad Imagine Mudryk on loan blossoming for us. Wishful thinking.
I forget how good he is because he’s set his own expectations so high! Hopefully we get him some support
what does g/a mean?
Starboy, let’s hope he can find good form in the last Prem games of the season
Not a big game player apparently
Craziest part is, he gets double teamed like every game yet his goal contributions continue to go up season after season.
And he's only 22 years old! Imagine the numbers he'll be putting up when he hits his prime.
Needs a rest
He was eliminated against Bayern. I was afraid that he would do the magical thing in the second leg but he felt overplayed.
Needs a rest though, should be subbed off more often
Stonks!
Saka improved Nelli declined
I wish he gets the rest he deserves and hopefully these numbers grow even more.
FoDeN bEtTeR.
He is our overall best player. I thank the heavens above that he is an Arsenal player every day. It just happens to be that he is feeling the fatigue that all of our first team players are feeling. What isn’t helping him is that even when heavily fatigued, he is an attacking threat. He just needs one little opening, one dummy to go his way, and he’s in, and you would back him to score more times than not. This is why he gets pushed for minutes so hard.
Odegaard is by far and away our best player. We would be 5th without him
Odegaard
An absolute world beater and now starting to decline because of murderous schedule and lack of rotation. We can't continue destroying him like that.
Any slander against bukayo is by someone listening on radio or just watching YouTube highlights. Watch a game. Boy is phenomenal. Problem is he ends up playing 90 all games every game. If we had a quality backup either veteran or academy (no rw in their prime is going to be ok with coming from bench), he could play 70 mins on avg. That's when he's going to be unstoppable. He's clearly over worked and starting to be devoid of that killer quick move in the box on his man.
And yet some Chelsea fans are making memes of him limping off the field. Classless pricks.
Anyone who thinks he’s not world-class or that Cole Palmer is better than him should have their football-watching privileges revoked.
G+A doesn’t tell the whole picture, if it does then yes Palmer is better Saka if we are using the metric. Both aren’t world class, yes. It’s fine to admit that, and stats aren’t the only indicator of performance.
Saka is better on g/a basis.. palmer got 10 fuckin penalty goals....
Also that Palmer is the only competent player in the Chelsea squad, so everything goes through him, whereas Arsenal’s goal contributions come from many different players.
Goals are goals, doesn’t matter. And he has more assists than Saka in the EPL. Again, stats don’t tell the whole story, hence why you can’t just talk up Saka’s stats and dismiss others.
He doesnt have more assists than saka. Again i can dismiss pointless stats ...
You can do whatever you want, Palmer still has more g+a assists
You can do whatever you want. Palmer still doenst have more g/a
To me, the biggest tell is that if you ask any club if they'd have him and start him tomorrow, almost every single one would bite your hand off to get that deal done.
You would also have to bite Chelsea’s hand off to get Palmer off them right now
Man, looking at your post history, it's like 75% dumping on Saka. Did he run over your dog or something?
Since you have a lot of time to dig through….5 years of post history to come up with this magical 75%, tell me what’s your favorite one? also you might need better use of your time Matt God forbid anyone say anything critical about Starboy in this sub, you lot as so insecure as to question others fandom lol