Saka has made his mark early on for Unai Emery’s side, scoring and providing two assists in last week’s Europa League win over Frankfurt then assisting Aubemayang’s equalizer at Old Trafford on Monday.
There is no questioning that Arsenal has some very intriguing young talent on their squad. Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, and Bukayo Saka are a few names that come to mind. Saka has been one of the most impressive youngsters so far in this year’s campaign, starring in the Europa League and then showing glimpses of brilliance in dangerous areas in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Monday.
The winger made a brief appearance last season as a substitute for Arsenal, but it wasn’t until this year where he’s been able to put his talent on full display. He was arguably the man of the match for the Gunners against Frankfurt, as he was at the forefront of their attack the entire 90 minutes. Saka was stealing balls off opponents, making beautiful passes through to his teammates, and using his tremendous pace to make deadly runs down the left side.
His performance in the Europa League put him on the radar instantly, although Arsenal was already aware of the type of talent Saka is. But the fact that he has barely played any first-team football, his display against a relatively decent team in Frankfurt was remarkable. He dominated them in every aspect and if his teammates buried their opportunities, he could have had four to five assists in the match.
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Great showing away at Old Trafford
Saka was in the starting eleven at Old Trafford on Monday, becoming the youngest player to ever start a fixture between the two sides and immediately picked up where he left off in European competition. In the second half, he assisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s equalizer. Saka anticipated a bad pass by United in their own end, intercepted, and first-timed a ball through to Aubameyang who had tons of space in front of him in the Red Devils 18-yard box. The goal was originally called offside, but VAR confirmed that it was actually onside.
He also had two very dangerous opportunities to score. Pepe brought the ball out of Arsenal’s own end on the counter-attack and passed a long-through ball to Saka, who had just one defender to beat. He cut inside and took a strike, but De Gea made a nice sprawling save. The 18-year old also had another quality opportunity to put one away, but he put it just over the bar via a cross from the right flank.
For such a young player, he looked very comfortable in a huge match. Saka was playing very physical and looked dangerous every time he got the ball in the final third. To be thrown in the starting lineup at Old Trafford and outshine basically everyone on both sides is extremely impressive and shows the huge potential that the 18-year old has.
Emery clearly has belief in him as well or else he wouldn’t have put him in the starting eleven. From the precision of his passes to winning tackles, it was a night to remember for Saka.
Bright future
To put forward these impressive performances at such a young age is remarkable and should make Arsenal supporters extremely happy. The sky is the limit for this exciting young talent. Bukayo Saka will be a huge part of this squad moving forward for the foreseeable future and could see a lot more playing time in Premier League fixtures after his breathtaking showing against the Red Devils.