Rio Ferdinand once made a controversial claim about Arsenal star Bukayo Saka, now he has changed his mind

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Arsenal have several top-quality players in their squad.

The Gunners are one of the best teams in the world, and their performances in the Champions League this season – most recently beating Real Madrid 5-1 over two legs – prove that.

Mikel Arteta has assembled a fantastic squad over the years. A lot is often said about the money he has spent on new signings, but he has used the academy really well too.

Arteta inherited one incredible player from Unai Emery’s side who has become the backbone of this Arsenal side – Bukayo Saka.

Rio Ferdinand has now made a U-turn on his assessment of the Arsenal number seven.

Rio Ferdinand changes his mind about Arsenal star Bukayo Saka

Saka has been one of the best players in the Premier League for many years now.

Arsenal fans will tell you that he is amongst the elite in world football, but fans of rival clubs and several pundits have not been ready for that conversation for a long time.

The debate over whether Saka is world-class or not has been going on and on over the last few years, and as much as Gooners back him, many others refuse to.

Manchester United legend Ferdinand has always claimed that Saka is not world-class, and that has been a controversial opinion among Arsenal fans.

Just last year, in February 2024, he said: “Not yet, not yet. Listen, I think Saka’s been unreal…But I think, it’s almost like ‘what is world-class?’ He hasn’t done it in the Champions League…

“Saka’s top, don’t get me wrong, he’s not world-class yet…Salah’s world-class. If you’re talking world-class, he’s got to be sitting around them boys.”

Now, after watching the Englishman deliver against Real Madrid, Ferdinand has changed his mind and admitted that Saka is indeed a ‘world-class’ footballer.

He said on TNT Sports after Arsenal’s win at the Bernabeu: “Saka – in terms of defining and being decisive – I’ve debated it quite a lot over the years – is he world class?

“Saka is 100 per cent a world-class footballer who will decide matches now for the rest of his career, I believe, at the top level, at the top table alongside the best players.”

READ MORE: What Arsenal fans were chanting at Rio Ferdinand in 2024 after he said Bukayo Saka wasn’t ‘world-class’

How many ‘world-class’ footballers do Arsenal have in their squad?

The term ‘world-class’ often leads to big arguments in football.

There is no clear definition of that in the game, but for us, a player who performs consistently at the highest level against the biggest sides and on the biggest stage is a world-class footballer.

Saka is definitely one of them, and we think Arteta has four more such players at his disposal.

David Raya, in our opinion, is a world-class goalkeeper. He is among the best in the game right now and has played a big part in making Arsenal as good as they are.

The three other players who are absolutely world-class are William Saliba, his centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes and of course, the hero against Real Madrid, Declan Rice.

All of them have been consistently brilliant for over two seasons now, and nobody can deny that they are right up there with Saka in their respective positions.