During the latter years of Arsene Wenger’s time in charge of Arsenal, the Gunners had a reputation for being slightly naive despite the excellent football that they played.
Wenger could no longer turn to the likes of Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown or Sol Campbell at Arsenal for example, he put greater emphasis on playing the ‘beautiful game’.
Fast-forward to now and Mikel Arteta has somewhat revived the fierce reputation of Wenger’s Invincibles, even if this current squad still have a lot to win.
The likes of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have given Arsenal a steely reputation again, and even Kai Havertz has contributed to that in some regard.
That being said, it’s not just the spine of Arsenal’s side who are earning this tough reputation right now – there’s also a lot to be said about how Arteta’s wingers conduct themselves.
Alan Shearer says Bukayo Saka never dodges a tackle at Arsenal
Along with Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka delivers a superb defensive effort week in, week out – an understated part of his game.
And when speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Alan Shearer also recognised that Saka never shirks a challenge when he’s attacking either, an extremely ‘tough’ player.
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Saka might not get a ton of credit for making Arsenal defensively resolute once again, but he certainly is contributing in every regard.
Praising Saka on the podcast, Shearer said: “I mean, he’s just an incredible player, left foot, right foot, attitude, but you know what, he’s also so, as you know, I don’t like swearing but he’s a tough little f—–, man.
“He’s like, he gets kicked every single week and he just goes back for more.
“And he never shirks a challenge, he’s just a phenomenal footballer.”
Bukayo Saka compared to Mesut Ozil after superb Southampton display
Of course, Saka was instrumental in helping Arsenal beat Southampton before the international break, delivering two brilliant assists and a goal.
Arsenal fans compared Saka to Mesut Ozil after his delivery to the back post for Gabriel Martinelli to put the Gunners 2-1 ahead, an assist the German would be proud of.
Evidently, Saka has so many facets to his game right now, he’s Arteta’s everything man.
Moreover, alluding to Shearer’s comments, it’s excellent to see Saka’s relentlessly positive attitude in games too, even when he is regularly being fouled.
And that explains why Saka is often seen wearing the captain’s armband in N5, a player who leads by example in similar vein to Martin Odegaard.
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