Saka struggling? He's more of a threat than ever
Mikel Arteta challenged Bukayo Saka to start scoring "two or three goals per game" before Arsenal's meeting with Lille. The winger clearly was listening. He only needed six minutes to find the net. And that was after providing an assist with his first touch.
Key points
- Mikel Arteta challenged Bukayo Saka to score 'two or three goals per game' before Arsenal's match against Lille.
- Saka provided an assist with his first touch and scored after six minutes in the Lille game.
- Saka's open-play expected goals per 90 in the Premier League this season is 0.50, nearly double his previous best.
Mikel Arteta challenged Bukayo Saka to start scoring 'two or three goals per game' before Arsenal's meeting with Lille. The winger responded by providing an assist with his first touch and then scoring after just six minutes.
Arteta was asked if his comments had motivated Saka. 'If that's the case, I'm very happy and I welcome it,' he said with a smile, adding that he had joked about 'killing him' in his pre-match press conference.
Saka's scoring surge
Saka's 71st-minute strike against Lille was his fourth goal in all competitions this season, plus two more on international duty with England. He missed one-on-one chances against Napoli and Leeds, and Arteta said after the Leeds win that Saka 'could have had another four or five goals by now, easily.'
Three of Saka's goals this season have come from inside or just outside the six-yard box. In the Premier League, he is averaging 0.50 open-play expected goals per 90 minutes, nearly twice as many as in any previous season for Arsenal. Only Thierno Barry and Erling Haaland have generated more expected goals in the league this season.
If that's the case, I'm very happy and I welcome it
— Mikel Arteta
Data and mindset
According to Gradient Sports, whose data grades players on quality of execution, Saka ranks as the best performer in the Premier League this season with an overall grade of 88.5. He is ahead of Joao Pedro, Elliot Anderson, Lewis Hall and Rayan Cherki. His Arsenal team-mates Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are just outside the top five with grades of 87.3 and 84.9.
Saka is creating less than in previous years but ranks in the top three for shots on target and penalty-box touches, and has made the most fast breaks in the league. Arteta attributes Saka's improvement to a change of 'mindset' about his scoring targets. The winger is also benefiting from being injury-free and combining again with Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
