Arsenal legend Martin Keown has compared Bukayo Saka to Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah following the youngster’s performance in the Europa League last night.
The Gunners were made to work hard by Bodo/Glimt, but Saka’s fortunate first-half goal was enough for Mikel Arteta’s men to pick up their 11th win of the season.
Arsenal legend Martin Keown compares ‘top drawer’ Bukayo Saka to Liverpool’s Mo Salah
A lot was said about Saka at the start of the season.
RANKING EVERY WORLD CUP GROUP ACCORDING TO THE FIFA RANKINGS
Many felt the young Englishman wasn’t performing well as he took a while to score his first goal of the campaign, but he has silenced all his critics over the last month.
Saka has been directly involved in eight goals in his last seven starts. That is a phenomenal return for someone who’s still only 21, and Keown has been really impressed by the young Englishman this season.
The legendary Gunners centre-back said on BT Sport after the game, as quoted by The Daily Mail: “He’s top drawer, he’s come through the academy, he’s had his foot on every rung of the ladder at that club. He’s now showing the way for the next generation.
‘Tonight he was the difference with the class that he has. As a left-footed right-winger, it’s really difficult when he comes to the side, it’s just that change of pace.
‘But that now is really quite exciting, really, when you see (Mohamed) Salah doing that for Liverpool, and he’s in that mould now, starting to come off the line a little bit more coming more central.”
The Insider’s View:
Saka has really stepped up over the last few weeks, but it has to be said that he’s still not at his absolute best.
The 21-year-old can become so much better in the coming weeks and months, which is really exciting for Arsenal fans but scary for all our opponents.
The Mo Salah comparisons are interesting. They’re both left-footed right-wingers who cut in to have an impact in the final third. Saka’s game is quite different to that of the Liverpool man, but he definitely has the potential to reach the heights that the Egyptian has.
Saka is already so good, and we can’t wait to see how much better he’ll be in a few years’ time.
