Alan Shearer has been issuing praise to one Arsenal star despite the Gunners’ terrible performance against Wolves.
Mikel Arteta will be even more relieved that Arsenal scored a stoppage-time winner against Wolves, as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace.
The gap between Arsenal and City is two points, and after what was seen from the Gunners against Rob Edwards’ side, the title race is wide open.
Fortunately for the Gunners, there were some positives to take from the win over Wolves, the primary one being Bukayo Saka’s brilliance.
Where does Bukayo Saka rank amongst Arsenal’s top five most important players right now?
Does he rank higher than Rice, Saliba or Trossard? 🤔
Alan Shearer says Bukayo Saka is a dream for forwards
Saka was so dominant against Wolves and dug Arsenal out of danger, being behind both of the own goals that the Old Gold scored.
It was no surprise to hear Alan Shearer hone in on Saka’s ability when analysing the game on The Rest Is Football podcast, where he lauded the winger’s crossing.
“Ultimately, I know it was an own goal, but the cross has won them the game, and he’s [Saka] brilliant at it because he can go left and whip one in with his left foot. You can get to the line and ping one in with his right foot.”
Even Wolves boss Edwards praised Saka’s delivery of the corner that Sam Johnstone put into his own net, as the 24-year-old’s crossing mastery was on show for all to see.
Excluding Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, which Arsenal player would you fancy most to score directly from a corner?
One of the closest to Saka’s crossing masterclass was Viktor Gyokeres, who really should’ve been on the end of at least one of his teammates’ deliveries.
Shearer rounded his praise off with a comment that should turn Gyokeres’ head, as the Premier League’s record goalscorer emphasised just how good Saka is.
“He’s so good, Saka. He’s unbelievable. He’s a dream for a forward, he’d be a dream to play with.”
A figure with the highest pedigree of goalscoring in the English top flight approves of what Saka does to support Arsenal’s attack, with all eyes now on Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres must take advantage of having Saka as a teammate
Gyokeres was a passenger against Wolves, which was incredibly frustrating as fans really wanted it to be a week of goals for the Swede.
Instead, the summer signing fumbled his lines, failing to score in starts against Club Brugge and Wolves, missing two big chances to score over the two fixtures.
Will Viktor Gyokeres turn it around like Thierry Henry did? If not, why?
Though pressure is mounting on Gyokeres to find his shooting boots, Shearer’s comments are encouraging, as if it wasn’t already clear, the 27-year-old has one of the best of the best alongside him.
It does, however, bring us back to what the striker’s issue currently is, which is that Gyokeres doesn’t quite fit Arsenal’s system yet.
So, while Saka’s crossing expertise is something the centre-forward needs to take advantage of, it’s also something he needs to anticipate, as right now, he’s not.
When things do eventually start ticking for Gyokeres, Saka’s crosses could become all the more meaningful, with the centre-forward’s next task in training very clear.
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