Arsenal’s revolution under Mikel Arteta is reaching its apex, with Bukayo Saka the crowning jewel of his star-studded team…
How good is Bukayo Saka?
Having emerged through their infamous Hale End academy, the 22-year-old has battled his way up through the ranks to become not just his club’s, but arguably one of the world’s finest young talents.
After all, he is dominating on every stage, having scored 14 goals and assisted a further 11 in the Premier League last season, firing home on his Champions League debut just last month, and even boasting 11 goals across his 31 caps for England.
It seems the trickster can do no wrong, with teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko seeking to laud his influence last season: “He is an amazing player, we know that. He is on fire at the moment”.
Then, when asked if he was the best player around at the moment, the Ukraine captain would reply: “In the Premier League? I’m not the guy who is going to judge but he is one of them for sure. I hope he is on this form for the rest of the season because he is such an important player for Arsenal as we have 10 more finals to go.”
With ten goal contributions already this campaign across all competitions, it seems poised to be yet another groundbreaking one. However, in Joel Campbell, the ex-Gunners ace is actually one of the few in world football netting more clinically than the England international.
How is Joel Campbell playing nowadays?
Having been brought to north London by Arsene Wenger, drafted directly from his homeland, the Costa Rican was a speedster who showcased plenty of promise that he certainly failed to live up to.
After all, across seven years at the Emirates, the 31-year-old would only muster a miserable 40 appearances, yet endured an astounding six different loan spells in an effort to usher out his potential.
The legendary French gaffer clearly saw something in the left-footed right winger, who heaped praise on him in 2016: “What is very interesting in Campbell’s case is that he looks like he has gained more confidence and authority in his game and in the final third he is a dangerous player and he has shown that.
“When you look at the player and the number of goals he scores and the number of assists, on that front you must say he has been very positive and he works hard for the team”.
However, it never quite felt like he would make it with Arsenal, and instead opted to ply his trade with Leon in Mexico just two years after joining Frosinone for free. Having since returned to Costa Rica with LD Alajuelense, it seems he has finally found some much-needed consistency that is seeing him outscore Saka.
After all, whilst Arteta’s main man has five goals across all competitions, Campbell has actually managed to notch six from the same role.
Although there is a clear disparity in the respective quality of the leagues, it cannot be denied how in-form the former Villarreal loanee is at the moment. It perhaps lends to the suggestion that Wenger was too dismissive of the trickster, who could have flourished in north London had he been handed the chances there rather than constantly shipped out on loan.
