Sport

Bukayo Saka’s impressive form

Bukayo Saka entered this season with a bit of a point to prove. While he had successfully put his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final, and the subsequent backlash, behind him, there was still work to be done for him to be appreciated on the same level of his fellow future England stars.

It has been impossible not to rate Saka since his emergence at Arsenal. But his ceiling has not quite been seen on the same level as Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham. During this campaign, though, with Arsenal launching a shock bid for the Premier League title that has only gathered pace, Saka has come out his shell and perhaps a few shadows, too. The Gunners could be about to end a 19-year wait for a Premier League title, and in Saka, they have a homegrown talent deserving of that stage and accolade.

Liverpool have struggled badly this season; their inconsistency has provided Arsenal with a gap at the top of the table to exploit. But Jürgen Klopp’s side have made Anfield a fortress since the German took charge in 2015, and they are unbeaten against the Gunners at home for 11 years in the league. Even if they have barely been at their best all season, in individual games, they are still a huge threat. They’ve beaten Manchester City at home this season, and scored 16 goals across two games against Manchester United and Bournemouth, too. Arsenal go to the Etihad Stadium in a matter of weeks for what is being billed as a title decider, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Sunday is the first of two extremely difficult challenges.

But Arsenal have met similar tasks head on and passed with flying colours. They’ve come back to win games they probably wouldn’t have in years gone by, at home to Bournemouth and away at Aston Villa being just two prime examples. Their mentality is strong; this is a different team thanks to Mikel Arteta. They appear ready for anything.

Talented and technical players have never really been short supply for the club. At first glance, Saka may appear to be an archetypal Arsenal player, but he is the leader of this new era. This has been his coming of age season, with 12 league goals and 10 assists, his best total for both in any season, and there are still nine games of this campaign to go. He has been involved in almost everything in an attacking sense; the linchpin in the final third while Gabriel Jesus has been out injured.

Signing a proven goalscorer at the top level was the first building block for Arteta last summer, and the news of his World Cup injury, which kept him out for months, was expected to be a nail in their coffin. But Arsenal have defied expectations time and again, thanks to the likes of Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli. The team ethic is why they are where they are.

Saka is the star-turn; the difference maker. When he gets the ball, there is a sense of anticipation. The decisive nature of his game has put him on a level with Foden and Bellingham; it has also led to more regular involvement with Gareth Southgate’s England side. He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Arteta has recently spoken about the need for  Saka to embrace the new level of expectation on his shoulders.

“He’s going to have to deal with expectations of the media, with attention on the pitch,” said Arteta.

“When you want to fulfil a role like the one he has at the moment, you need to be capable of doing that. So don’t read too much, don’t listen too much, just focus on what you have to do every day. That’s it.”

Those are the words of a perfectionist who knows that Saka can still rise from here. But after years of being under appreciated in comparison to his peers, he is starting to make noises for himself.

With the Player of the Year awards coming up, his name has to be high on any list of potential winners.