Martin Keown suggests ‘unbelievable’ Arsenal player could replace Bukayo Saka and offer ‘something different’

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Arsenal need to find a replacement for Bukayo Saka when they face Ipswich Town in their final game of 2024.

The Gunners returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace. That came after back-to-back draws against Fulham and Everton.

Gooners were delighted with the result, but Arsenal lost Saka for many weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the game against the Eagles.

Mikel Arteta needs to find a replacement for the Arsenal number seven, and Martin Keown has made a suggestion.

Arsenal legend Martin Keown suggests Ethan Nwaneri could replace Bukayo Saka

There are very few players in world football who could replace Saka.

The Englishman is one of the best players on the planet and his stats since the start of the campaign are nothing short of incredible – 22 direct goal contributions in 24 appearances.

Arsenal need to find a way to produce the numbers that Saka did, and Mikel Arteta has revealed that he has five players who could play on the right wing:

We think that Ethan Nwaneri is the best option to replace Saka, and it looks like Keown agrees with that assessment.

The legendary Arsenal defender has suggested that the teenager, who usually plays as a number 10, could offer ‘something different’ if he plays as a right winger.

Speaking about Saka on talkSPORT, Keown said: “I don’t know of a player that has created more chances for his colleagues in the Premier League this season, so he’s obviously going to be a really big miss.

“It’s up to someone to step up, maybe [Ethan] Nwaneri, who has been playing in the [Martin] Odegaard role, maybe he could come into the front line and give us something different.”

One Arsenal player could bring the best out of Nwaneri on the right wing

Nwaneri’s best position is as a number 10, but that does not mean that he cannot play out wide.

The 17-year-old is excellent on the ball, a great dribbler and has the acceleration required to get past his opponents with ease. He is brilliant in tight areas too and has already shown that he can create chances and score goals.

Of course, it won’t be easy for Nwaneri to fill Saka’s shoes, but the youngster will have Martin Odegaard playing next to him, and we think the Arsenal captain can help bring the best out of him.

The Norway international always combines really well with Saka. If he plays with Nwaneri, the two players could interchange positions and cause the opponents all sorts of problems.

That is a really exciting prospect, and we hope Arteta will give the ‘unbelievable’ Nwaneri a chance on the right wing in the coming weeks.