Arsenal have had to endure a few nervy contract sagas in recent times and they could find themselves in the same mess again unless they quickly tie down Bukayo Saka to a new long-term deal in the coming months.

The young English international is a superb talent. He’s a player who can play consistently well in a variety of positions; pretty much anywhere on the lefthand side, central midfield and he’s also an attacking threat on the right flank too.

The twenty year old is already becoming a talismanic figure for The Gunners. This term Saka has contributed to his team’s Premier League cause with six goals and four assists.

In total the youngster has just made eighty league appearances and in that time he’s scored twelve goals and created twelve assists.

Nobody in the current Arsenal squad averages more than Saka’s 2.2 shots per game. Only Martin Odegaard beats Bukayo on key passing stats.

Bukayo Saka has also broken into the England team and has fourteen caps and four goals to his name.

Both his international and club managers trust him and think he’s a wonderful player:

“We have been super impressed with Bukayo Saka throughout the month. He was excellent up at Middlesbrough and we have liked him with and without the ball. His receiving tonight under pressure was fantastic.”

Gareth Southgate via Football365.com

“He’s a really humble boy who’s willing to learn every single day.

“He works really hard and he has an incredible talent. It’s a combination of everything you need to be successful”.

Mikel Arteta via Arseblog

Even though he’s still young, the player has no issues with demanding the ball from teammates and directly attacking opponents with the ball at his feet. He’s such a creative force and always seems to get into dangerous positions inside the opposition’s half. He has that great ability to receive the ball in space in-between the lines on the half turn and can then quickly get up to top speed as he heads to the line or goal.

His close control and dribbling skills will often get the Arsenal faithful up onto their feet in excitement. He’s a very strong player technically and has wonderful vision to create defence splitting passes to unlock tight defences.

From the outside looking in, Saka has a terrific attitude. He seems happy to let his football performances do the talking. He’ll help his side wherever he’s needed but has usually been used on the right under Gunners boss Mikel Arteta. I’d like to see more of him the left and linking up with Kieran Tierney but as he’s so comfortable on either flank, it makes sense to play him on the right as that allows Arteta to play scoring threat Gabriel Martinelli out on the left.

So it goes without saying that Arsenal will want to hang onto Saka for as long as possible as he has the ability and time to develop into a truly world class talent.

They signed him to a new four year deal in 2020 (Source BBC Sport) but that will leave them with a decision to make in the summer if he hasn’t signed a new contract by that time as he’ll be just two years away from that deal running out.

In normal circumstances you’d imagine that the club would gauge if the player is willing to sign a new offer and if he’s not then you’d sell him with two years left on his current deal to get a hefty fee. It becomes more of an option for clubs when you look at the current climate of players actually sitting back and allowing their contracts to run down.

But for Arsenal this is a top performing star player and one who has the potential to become even better in the future. Bukayo has come up through the youth ranks at the club, debuted at seventeen and is loved by the home support. So you’d imagine they’ll do everything within their power to keep him in North London.

The difficulty comes with what the player wants.

A higher wage? Probably, who doesn’t want to be paid more? Especially when you merit that wage increase. But I don’t believe wages will be a motivating factor when it comes to Saka. He’d get a great deal in that regard at The Emirates.

It could come down to what he wants to do in terms of challenging for trophies and fulfilling a dream to play Champions League football.

Arsenal haven’t finished inside the top four in their last six attempts!

The run-in between now and the end of season could be vital in their attempts to keep Buyako Saka at the club. They look like they’ve turned a corner under Arteta but we’ve all thought that before when it comes to The Gunners.

They currently lie in sixth spot but have games in hand over the two sides who are ahead of them in the league table. Win those games in hand and they will be sitting in fourth spot but will probably have Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and West Ham United in hot pursuit. It will be a real test for the squad but it could prove to be make or break when it comes to keeping their talented England star at the club.

Be in no doubt every top European superpower will be watching on and will be considering Buyako Saka as a potential signing as he’s really that good.

It will add even more pressure onto Arsenal’s season but the best teams thrive under pressure and Saka will want to playing with the best and challenging for top honours!

Posted on February 10th, 2022 by scott
Filed under: Article