Bukayo Saka endured a frustrating season at Arsenal in the 2024-25 campaign.
Saka started the season in blistering form and was on course to have the best season of his career so far in terms of goal contributions.
However, the Hale End star seemed to spark Arsenal’s injury crisis that ended any hopes of the club earning their first Premier League title since 2004 by tearing his hamstring away at Crystal Palace in late December.
Upon his return from surgery, Saka missed a golden opportunity in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final clash with PSG.
His frustration at the campaign was mirrored by everyone associated with the club, however, Rio Ferdinand thinks that his fortunes could be about to change.
Rio Ferdinand predicts Viktor Gyokeres impact on Bukayo Saka
Arsenal have relied on Saka in terms of scoring and creating goals far too much in recent seasons and Mikel Arteta will need to keep a close eye on his workload next campaign.
However, Ferdinand believes that the signing of Viktor Gyokeres will help to lift that burden from Saka and even improve the Hale End star’s number of assists even further.
Ferdinand stated: “Listen, one thing there is no dispute on, this guy, for two years, has dominated Portuguese football. Led defenders all over the place and smashed them all over. You can’t argue it.
“Some people, on this show, he was massively linked to Man Utd, and I was saying no, because I didn’t think he was the right profile for Man Utd in terms of experience at the top level. We don’t know if he can play in the Premier League, he hasn’t done it, he played for Coventry.
“There are question marks, but at Arsenal he will get so many looks at goal. I don’t think it’s a big gamble for Arsenal. The Sakas of this world, the responsibility he has been shouldering in terms of goals, he will be put at ease, he’ll be relaxed.”
Saka has competition in Noni Madueke this season but there is the feeling that the Gunners man will thrive upon having that pressure.
The amount of dangerous crosses that Saka delivered into the box last season and found an empty penalty area from an attacking sense must have been soul-destroying.
Gyokeres is a predator in front of goal and will be sniffing out those crosses in order to get himself off to the best possible start in North London.
Bukayo Saka could change positions this season
With the arrival of Madueke, we could see Saka changing positions on a more regular basis for the Gunners this season.
Whilst Madueke has also played on the left flank, his preferred position is coming in from the right hand side and Arteta may decide to keep swapping the wingers in order to make it challenging for opposition defences.
Saka began his career in the first-team at left back and showed he had the quality in producing crosses from that side on his favoured left foot.
It may be a ploy that we see more often from Arteta next season, especially with the likes of Gyokeres and Kai Havertz to aim for in the box.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
