Rio Ferdinand explains why Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is now ‘unpredictable’ like Mo Salah

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Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been lauded after carrying England to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, and he is proving his critics wrong.

Saka has been one of Arsenal’s best players for several years, and his output went to a different level last season as he recorded 34 goals and assists across all competitions.

It seems to take more work for him to earn praise than some of his England counterparts, with Ian Wright now praising Saka after causing fire with recent comments about potentially moving him to left-back for England.

This came after a season in which Rio Ferdinand angered Arsenal fans by refusing to credit Saka as “world-class,” but the former Manchester United defender has now praised the 22-year-old.

Rio Ferdinand explains improvement in Bukayo Saka amid Mohamed Salah comparison

Speaking on FIVE, Ferdinand explained that Saka had proven him wrong as he is now able to take on defenders on both of his feet.

“The way that we played the other day, Saka is so important because he gives us that ability to get at people, he’s getting the guy one-on-one and I said this before,” he explained.

“What I like about him, and one of my criticisms about Saka was that he was so dominant on coming inside on his left foot whereas this game especially he was facing, and he has done it in this tournament a lot, he’s facing the full-back one-v-one and gone outside as much as he has come inside.

“So, it makes it unpredictable. And when a winger is unpredictable like that, like Mahrez has been for many years, you go that is a hard, hard day’s work, that is. And if you go right up tight when the ball is rolling into him, he’s strong enough to roll you like Salah does. He’s so strong, it’s a joke.”

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka deserves more praise for his dribbling ability

Saka often does not receive a lot of credit for his dribbling ability compared to the likes of Cole Palmer or Phil Foden, but his ability to take on defenders means that opposition teams often double up on him.

Both Saka and Salah do not receive full praise for their dribbling as some may argue that theirs is not as aesthetically pleasing as other players, but the reality is that they are both a nightmare to defend against, whilst also producing elite levels of goal output.

Full-backs now need extra help when defending against Saka. He can either cut inside, or shift onto his right foot and go wide.

Without a winger helping double up against him, he is almost impossible to keep quiet, and is arguably Arsenal and England’s most dangerous and important attacker because of this.