Bizarre to call him a fraud. He's a fantastic player. He just seems burnt out. I hope he recovers form to help Arsenal win the League, and even if but, i think his ceiling is quite high.
That said, hopefully he cuts out the diving.
Saka (Arsenal)
- Thread starter golden_blunder
- Start date
That said, hopefully he cuts out the diving.
Wow that’s really poor. Like the rest of his team, he’s dipping at the wrong time. I rate him very highly but the trend has to be worrying for Arsenal fans given technically he has everything in his locker.
You must not watch much of him because individually he has bags of talent. Can breeze past a man, can score and assist.. pretty muche everything you want in a RW.
This was in Sept ‘23. Feel like it’s very much gone that way.
He is not and has never really been a particularly good (i.e. efficient) dribbler:
He's much more of a wide forward that needs to cut inside rather than a pure winger who creates and carries the ball. There's been a concerted effort to make him much more of a Salah-esque player:
Obviously this isn't necessarily a bad thing given how good Odegaard is at building from deep areas but I don't think it's correct to say he's a complete RW at this point given how much more specialised his role has been this year especially.
Honestly, I know a lot won't be made of that but it's genuinely disgraceful. Just make sure you get it past the first man. Imagine Beckham did this in 99. The importance of set pieces especially in the dying moments of big matches can't be understated. Arsenal do bottle it when it really matters.
Bottled a big occasion again.
Bit harsh, was good first leg and average 2nd leg at the age of 22. Think they went a bit defensive but was an even game for the most part.
He's one of the few players at Arsenal I actually like, even despite the diving (which is unnecessary), but it was highlighted last season and during this season that Arteta's over-reliance on him would catch up with Saka in the end, and it seems to be just that. He seems exhausted mentally mostly, and I worry about him at the Euros - he's an easy target for online criticism and despite having showed fortitude and resilience in the past, I hope he doesn't become a scapegoat if England don't do well and his performances aren't top notch.
I agree with all of that, I just don't think there's any area of his game that stands out as elite or near elite level, not yet anyway. As @TheMagicFoolBus pointed out the metrics back that up aswell, and also the comparison to Salah in style I agree with. He is being used/developed in a way to maximize goals and assists as part of a structured system that doesn't really allow freedom. The problem is when you're not playing well or its a tight game his lack of elite qualities overshadow a lot of the good qualities he has.
Whenever Arsenal have come to the Bridge in recent times and I've been there, Odegaard always stood out as a level above all of your attacking players. Even if you weren't playing well his individual quality would still shine through with every touch.
Personally id play him as a LB for the rest of the tournament.
He is left footed and has played their before much like Bale.
Id much prefer him at LB than Trippier. Let him play like our left sided Frimpong.
Then we can move Foden to the RW and play Bellingham, Mainoo & Rice together.
Or
Play Bellingham with Rice, Foden as the CAM & Palmer as the RW.
He is left footed and has played their before much like Bale.
Id much prefer him at LB than Trippier. Let him play like our left sided Frimpong.
Then we can move Foden to the RW and play Bellingham, Mainoo & Rice together.
Mainoo-Rice
Foden-Bellingham-Eze
Foden-Bellingham-Eze
Or
Play Bellingham with Rice, Foden as the CAM & Palmer as the RW.
Rice - Bellingham
Palmer - Foden - Eze
Id prefer Gordon over Eze but he has yet to play.
I think TAA & Saka at fullbacks for this tournament would be insane but too attacking for Southgate.
I feel like Saka has been good at RW but is finding things harder as there is no one at the opposite end of the pitch at LW.
Palmer - Foden - Eze
Id prefer Gordon over Eze but he has yet to play.
I think TAA & Saka at fullbacks for this tournament would be insane but too attacking for Southgate.
I feel like Saka has been good at RW but is finding things harder as there is no one at the opposite end of the pitch at LW.
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If Southgate had balls he would bench Foden. Keep the midfield as it is.
Eze/Gordon on the left.
LB situation is dire. Move to 3 at the back Saka LWB Trent/Palmer RWB.
Ideally Kane also should be dropped and play Bellingham uptop, with Eze behind him and Gordon on the left.
Eze/Gordon on the left.
LB situation is dire. Move to 3 at the back Saka LWB Trent/Palmer RWB.
Ideally Kane also should be dropped and play Bellingham uptop, with Eze behind him and Gordon on the left.
How do Arsenal fans feel about Saka at left back for the national team? It's not going to get the best out of him obviously, but is it a job he can do?
He's a hard working player so he can do it, but I hate the idea of him playing there and risking exhaustion and injury just to fit Foden, Bellingham and Kane into the same tactic. I don't think its going to work out any better for England tbh. They should just bench Foden or Kane and bring him on as a "super sub" to get the most out of the side.
It does sound far from ideal and doesn't say a lot for Trippier. Fact of the matter is that none of the front four are playing well, but Kane is never getting benched and Bellingham has bought himself a bit of time with a couple of goals. Saka is the fall guy due to his versatility and adaptability. I feel that Palmer needs to get into the team somewhere and that Gordon should be used a lot more off the bench as a different option.
Been more impressed with Palmer as RW so far. Would move him to LB for now, and also take out Foden for Eze.
was very poor against slovakia 73% pass accuracy, only Konsa and Toney had less for England
I think Saka has been perfectly fine at RW without doing anything spectacular and is far from the problem in that front line, actually adds balance. Problem is the other side. Left back would be an interesting and daring move I’m not sure Southgate will make.
I agree. Saka isn't the problem for England and has always been one of our best players. Unfortunately the clamour for Palmer means he's the one that will be dropped/moved if Palmer comes in. Think it's more to do with Foden and Bellingham being undroppable than Saka being bad.
Just no, Saka has actually been ok and actually created a goal too. Palmer wasn't very good yesterday either
There’s nothing wrong with Saka (well, other than the constant diving), he’s a fantastic player, and has been one England’s better players so far.
I do think he should’ve been rested for one of the group games, he’s played non stop football for years now, including two back to back high intensity mentality draining seasons with Arsenal.
Did well at LB too, Antony would be proud.
I do think he should’ve been rested for one of the group games, he’s played non stop football for years now, including two back to back high intensity mentality draining seasons with Arsenal.
Did well at LB too, Antony would be proud.
Palmer's form is too good to keep leaving him out, so he should play - he finished the season in better form. Saka at left back is a great option.
Saka's been the best of the attacking three from a performance standpoint, as others have stated he's the only profile of player who brings balance. The way Southgate's system is it should be Bellingham or Foden and Gordon should be starting every game.
Palmer has done well in parts, but he does look to have the better influence as an impact sub.
Palmer has done well in parts, but he does look to have the better influence as an impact sub.
I agree, I don’t think he deserves to be dropped or lose his RW spot. Palmer produced a very good cameo off the bench against Slovenia, but then he wasn’t particularly impressive yesterday. I get the clamour to have him involved, I want that too, but unfortunately for him, Saka is a great player, and Palmer is a great option to have off the bench. What I won’t accept is Bowen being first off the bench before him.
Saka is good to have on the RW but he's been underwhelming IMO. Looks much better for Arsenal.
Passing accuracy stats will always be lower if you are actually trying to create chances against a team defending a 1-0 lead like last night, rather than backwards and sideways crap.
I agree with Cesc.
Every single England player looks much better for their clubs....
And I don't want Saka at left back. We're going to be playing sides where our defenders will need to actually defend.
I think when we’re losing and it’s needs must it’s actually a pretty good solution.
I wouldn’t start him there though.
Absolutely. If we've got no Luke Shaw and we're chasing the game then it's an option.
I'd be very nervous about him starting at LB against a good team like the Swiss.
If its that low you're doing so badly.
And he did. He gave it away trying to play passes that werent on and werent defense splitting chance creating passes. They were just forcing passes out towards the wing or into the middle when they werent on and losing the ball
What's the % at which a player's passing is bad, in your mind?
Depends on position but if you're bottom 3 or 4 and you're an attacker, you havent kept the ball well enough
Attackers are always be bottom 3 or 4, aren't they?
What's a good % for an attacking player, one supposed to create and score like Palmer?
Goalkeeper is usually lowest or bottom few, striker is probably one of the lowest %
Palmer's average for Chelsea is 83.3%, quite far ahead of the 72.7% against Slovakia
High 70s and low 80s when you have most of the ball like England's 63% possession
Foden and Saka were 83.3% and 89.6% respectively and could have tried a few more daring passes to try and create something. If they were at like 77% and actually created something sure, fine. 72.7% is low enough that your teammates will start to think passing to you is a bad idea