BREAKING NEWS: Sold for cheap price due to Arteta outburst with Him,now He’s outscoring Bukayo Saka and Victor Gyokeres,He was even ranked Top20 in the latest Balon d’ior ratio,we regret letting Him go then”, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke expresses dissatisfaction over ONE Hale end product whom Arteta let go for £12m back then
It’s not been the perfect start to the season for Arsenal, but it’s been pretty close.
With seven games played, Mikel Arteta’s side sit atop the Premier League table, one point ahead of Liverpool.
In the Champions League, the Gunners have won both of their opening games without conceding a goal, and eased through the Third Round of the League Cup with a heavily rotated side.
Saka-Arsenal
What makes this start all the more impressive is the fact that neither Bukayo Saka nor Viktor Gyokeres are firing on all cylinders just yet, and are actually being outperformed by a player sold by the club for next to nothing.
Saka & Gyokeres’ starts to the season
Starting with Saka, it has already been an eventful season for the Englishman. As early as his second start of the season, at home to Leeds United, he was forced off with another hamstring injury.
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Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Fortunately, it wasn’t anywhere near as severe as the injury that had seen him miss large parts of last season, and after missing the games against Athletic Club, Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest, he returned in the second half of the match against Manchester City.
Since then, the Hale Ender has clearly been trying to get back up to speed, and while they may well take a little longer, he’s still been an effective threat on the right-hand side.
For example, while he scored the penalty, he probably should have racked up a few assists against West Ham United, as he amassed an expected assists figure of 1.11, created one big chance and played two key passes.
Given his performances and output over the last few years, it’s surely just a matter of time before Saka is racking up goal involvements for fun this season.
Arsenal-saka
However, when it comes to Gyokeres, rightly or wrongly, there are a few more doubts over how impactful he could be this year.
Now, to his credit, the former Sporting CP star has already found the back of the net three times in seven league appearances, but the last one of his goals came against Forest, which was six appearances ago.
Yet, while this isn’t ideal, the Swede has been slowly improving game by game, by making better runs, holding the ball better, and, crucially, pulling opposition defenders away from his teammates.
In all, while neither attacker is at their very best at the moment, they’re getting there, although they are being outperformed by a winger sold almost a decade ago.
The ex-Arsenal ace outperforming Saka & Gyokeres
Unfortunately, there are more than a few ex-Arsenal players who have gone on to thrive after leaving the club over the last decade or so, just like Serge Gnabry.
Serge-Gnabry-Arsenal
The German international joined the Gunners from Stuttgart in July 2011, but was sold to Werder Bremen for just £5m five years later, with just 18 first-team appearances and a failed loan to West Bromwich Albion to show for his time in England.
It took no time at all for the youngster to prove the North Londoners wrong, as he ended his first season back in Germany with 13 goal involvements in 27 appearances, which was enough to earn a move to Bayern Munich.
The German giants sent the dynamic winger on loan to Hoffenheim the following season, where he racked up 17 goal involvements in 26 appearances, which was enough to see him given a chance in Bavaria in 18/19.
The 30-year-old seized that chance with both hands, scoring 13 goals and providing eight assists in 42 appearances, totalling 2544 minutes, which translates to a goal involvement every other game, or every 121.14 minutes.
Since then, the Stuttgart-born game-changer has produced 162 goal involvements in 295 games for FC Hollywood and earned 53 senior caps for Germany, in which he’s scored 23 goals and provided nine assists.
With numbers like this, and a trophy cabinet few in the game can match, it’s hard to disagree with talent scout Jacek Kulig’s assertion that he’s “one of the best wingers in World football.”
Gnabry &Saka & Gyokeres in 25/26
Player
Gnabry
Saka
Gyokeres
Games
10
7
10
Minutes
598
428′
752′
Goals
3
3
3
Assists
4
0
0
All Stats via Transfermarkt
There is also no sign of him slowing down, as in ten appearances this season, he has scored three goals and provided four assists.
Ultimately, while hindsight is always 20-20, Arsenal must surely regret selling Gnabry, as he could still be a significant part of Arteta’s team today if they hadn’t.
