Bakayo Saka started for England last night and if the Press are to be believed he will be a solid fixture in Gareth Southgate’s England team for the rest of the tournament.
It is becoming apparent to the rest of the football world that Arsenal have a major talent here. This past season he was head and shoulders Our best player. At age 19 that is quite a statement. I don’t think We’ve had a standout talent from the Arsenal academy at such a young age since Tony Adams (Cesc Fabregas & Nicholas Anelka were lifted from other academies in my opinion). If he measures up to Big Tone he will be some player.
Unai Emery clearly saw something in Bukayo and gave him his first senior appearance. For all the things Unai got wrong at Arsenal he clearly got that one right.
What makes Saka stand out in England is his talent with both his left and right feet. He can use both equally well, which can be a nightmare to defend against. He may not be the fastest player, but he has a turn of pace and can dribble well. His crossing is also decent. Maybe where he is lacking at the moment is his finishing, but he has time to improve on that.
Despite his ability to play in many positions I see him as destined to play off a striker as an inside right or inside left (George Best?). He has too much talent to be stuck on the wing and his attacking ability would be wasted in midfield or defence.
Now the problem: Showcasing his talents on the International stage at Euro2020 (21 surely?) will attract interest from other teams. He is tied down to a 3 year contract, but as seen with Harry Kane this is no guarantee that a player will stay put. In the coming years we will need to match his ambition to keep him at the Club.
The best comparison in the England set up is Phil Foden (nice shiny gnashers). He is 2 years older than Saka and worth about £80 million according to Transfermarkt. He’s a good player, but very left footed, so what would that make Saka worth? If Man City with their Abu Dhabi vanity project money offer £150 million could we hold out? I hope so.
This lad is potentially world class. He needs to be the beating heart of the Arsenal team over the coming years with support from Smith Rowe, Tierney and Partey. Keep these players together and we might be back in the big time…
A piece from Pete the Thirst – thank you from RC78 and RockyLives and LBG
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
I think Saka is best in the final third and at his age, I think he is still better placed on the wings but I think as he matures, he will play more centrally behind a striker to be a player a la Firmino/Del Piero or as part of a midfield three as a box-to-box a la Lampard/Wijnaldum
England is producing some quality players, very clever with their runs and movement. Look at the FBs and players like Saka and Mount. Impressive. I d say that England would also need to focus on building more players like Busquets and Kante too and overall, you are set…
If England beats Germany, I can see them go all the way to the final
I LOVE Saka so much , and my worry now is that City or some other club will be after him, why buy Kane for £100 million if you can have Saka for 3!)) million. I just hope against hope that Arsenal will never let him go, & will pay him well & keep him on long term deals . If we pay him well & Arsenal do start winning things then Saka will never leave I am sure as he is a Gooner from young
Unfortunately, I dont think “the Press” are right!
Southgate has his favourites and history says Grealish and Saka are not them.
I think he will bring back Mount and Manshitty man, just as he has brought back Maguire and Henderson and might resort to Trippier ( not a wrong decision IMO).
It is easier enough to argue bring our man and Grealish on after 60mins if things arent going well, but both did the business immediately against the Czechs. Germany need to be pressed hard early on. They are a relatively weak team, but will gain in confidence if not squashed early on.
I would pick Mount but with Saka and Grealish either side of him. I would keep Rice but only play one holder. This would enable another striker or Sterling to play further forward with ( or without) Kane. This can easily be adjusted as game goes on depending!
Thanks RC
@LBG I hope Southgate reverts to his ultra-cautious ways and sticks Saka on the bench. We could do with him firing on all pistons next season.
Pete
Inclined to agree and smile at that thought. No time for International footie really, just reacting to the post.
On the other side Pete, I think he can grow if he plays games at the Euro and then he comes back with more experience…
Saka is our MVP 🙂 I feel like Kalvin Philips and Partey could play well together in midfield…
Partey, Philipps – Saka, ESR, Pepe – Auba?
By the way, Odegaard clearly wants to play for Real – such a relief! We won’t waste money on him and now ESR and Willock can battle it out for the Nr.10 role at AFC
Good luck Dinos. Hope we have some good clauses re sale and/or sell.on. Otherwise we have made another error
So the year we are ( thankfully) out of Europe, the away goals rule scrapped. Over the years we lost out a few times with that little UEFA gem.
Ben White on his way in for 50 Mln (Crazy!) and Mavropanos is out:
Holding, White
Gabriel, Mari
Meanwhile, Grealish joins Man City for 100 Mln (Crazy) and that could mean the end of City’s interest in Kane, which could mean that Kane would go to Chelski or Utd in the end…
Glad you are in the know RC!😉
One site this morning says Arsenal are prepared to sell Holding if Saliba takes his chance.
Everything to do with money in our game is “crazy”!
I am not a massive fan of all of the following players but I would like them to stay:
Chambers, Holding, AMN
Saka, ESR, Willock
I am a bit less attached to Nelson (could be loaned out) and Nketiah (could even be sold).
For Willock, I d like to give him a chance after his impressive spell at Newcastle and then for AMN, we need a utility player like him in the squad BUT for both, if we receive a very good offer, I won’t be too too sad to see them go…
Now, I do not want to hear about selling or loaning out:
– Chambers, Holding, Saka and ESR
As for Dino and Saliba, I have no clue what games Edu-Arteta are playing…Dino had a breakthrough season in Germany and Saliba is still considered a massive talent so…
If you are going to replace anyone in our defensive unit, the first names were Leno and Bellerin for me…
RC
You are not a massive fan of ESR or SAKA.
Either you have a not in there that should not be there or IMO, you are a nutter!😯
If you didn’t know otherwise, you’d think fate didnt want Saliba to be the player I think he can be. Just when he was to be given a preseason chance to make his mark, France call him up for Olympics🤬. Will join Gabriel and Martinelli on reserve list for Italy.
So keep Holding, buy White, given Mari some time on the pitch, and hope we have no early injuries. Mavrapanos and Medley leaving looking dodgy now.
Great news Kieran has signed a new deal. A genuine star man in an average squad.
The rumour mill is more ridiculous than normal this year. Arsenal must have struck oil out the back of the Emirates given their projected spending forecast.
For what it’s worth, the following players could/should be sold and wouldn’t cost me a thought;
Leno, Bellerin, Soares, Mari, Kolasinic, Xhaka (for no less than £20m), Nelson, Willian, Aubamayeng (to an non-English team), Lacazette and Nkitea.
And more bollox…..Manshitty have not bid for Grealish and Villa wont welcome any bid after Euros.
1979
Only two I disagree with! I would keep Mari and one of Laca or Aubang in that order. But the latter of course has the long term ( ridiculously expensive) contract. Are you keeping Elneny, Guendouzi and Torreira?
I will put a post up shortly