Things were not looking great for Arsenal just a few weeks ago, but following back-to-back wins in the Premier League and Champions League, they’re back to their best.
Mikel Arteta’s side looked good against Nottingham Forest on the weekend and took things to another level entirely against Sporting CP on Tuesday night.
There were standout performers all over the pitch in both games, but as has so often been the case over the last few years, Bukayo Saka was arguably the best of them all.
Appearances
11
4
2
Minutes
908′
343′
99′
Goals
4
2
0
Assists
8
1
0
Goal Involvements per Match
1.09
0.75
0.00
Minutes per Goal Involvement
75.6′
114.3′
N/A
The Englishman scored and assisted in each game and now looks like a man on a mission, so fans should be excited about recent reports linking the club with a player who’d help him get even better, a player who’s been compared to Lamine Yamal.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from the German publication Bild via Caught Offside, Arsenal are among several top sides interested in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
The report has revealed that alongside the Gunners, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich ‘and more’ are all keen to land the sensationally gifted 21-year-old, who would supposedly cost anywhere between £100m to £150m.
However, if the price and competition weren’t obstacles enough for the North Londoners, the report also claimed that Leverkusen are planning to offer the youngster a new mega-money contract to try to keep him at the club.
Overall, it looks like it will be an extremely complicated and costly ordeal to sign Wirtz in 2025, but given his incredible talent, one well worth undertaking, especially as he’d be great for Saka and has won comparisons to Yamal.
Why Wirtz would be great for Saka
Okay, so before we look at the reasons why Wirtz would be a dream signing for Saka, let’s examine this comparison to Yamal and where it comes from.
Well, it primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Spaniard is the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the German this season.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair ranks closely, metrics including but not limited to expected goals, progressive carries, shots on target and successful take-ons, all per 90.
Expected Goals
0.33
0.30
Progressive Carries
6.34
5.74
Progressive Passes Received
13.8
13.4
Shots on Target
1.58
1.38
Passing Accuracy
80.8%
77.2
Key Passes
2.67
2.41
Successful Take-Ons
3.76
3.15
Ball Recoveries
4.65
4.07
Now, some might point out the fact that the Barcelona ace plays off the right of a front three and the German in attacking midfield, and while that’s true, it’s not the whole picture.
Yes, the Leverkusen ace’s primary position is at the tip of midfield, but his second most played position is off the right, and the third is off the left, so he’s more than comfortable playing out wide.
This positional flexibility is one of the reasons he’d be such a great signing for Arsenal and teammate for Saka, as he could fit in where he’s needed, either alongside or perhaps just ahead of Martin Odegaard, so as not to displace the Norwegian entirely.
However, the second and arguably more significant reason he’d be a great partner for the Englishman is his incredible output.
For example, in 49 appearances last season, the “world-class” talent, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists, which equates to an average of a goal involvement every 1.28 games and shows he’s as capable of scoring goals as he is setting them up.
Moreover, in just 19 games this season, the 21-year-old “genius”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has already scored nine goals and provided four assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.46 games – talk about consistency.
Ultimately, Wirtz is one of the most exciting players in world football at the moment and seems destined to become a future great. Therefore, Arsenal must do whatever they can to bring him to the Emirates in 2025 and pair him up with their own future legend in Saka before someone else beats them to it.
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