Bukayo Saka: From Starboy to Champion

[cannon]

England out in the group stage would be the best for everyone concerned.

Not going to happen. I looked at the squads of all the big teams and England is prob 3. Dutch and Belgium squads are relatively poor as is Brazil. Overall quality looks poor this World Cup. France look good as do Spain and England and maybe Germany but after that it drops

 

[cannon]

Because our midfielders aren't good enough to hold/sustain possesion and recycle our attacks. Attackers can't produce if they rarely get the ball and its in terrible positions. I thought Madueke was probably our most dangerous asset on the ball.

I love Saka but Madueke will be starter next season - I'd give him that opportunity anyway. We need to bring in a high level player at LW.

Was surprise to see Noni get the better of mendes a couple times with his pace

 

[sdotzdot]

The RW is a concern that I think is finally coming to the forefront.

Saka, as unbelievable as he has been, is clearly struggling with something serious and has been for a while. Not only physically but his decision making has gone off the rails all season, he used to be the most calm and composed in our entire squad in the final third.

Madueke isn't good enough for anything more than a squad player, realistically we need to bring in someone who is right now around Sakas level and can play as much as him out there. We are looking at 60 game seasons, we really need someone else of top quality out there because Saka definitely needs better competition.

 

[Rex Caudillo]

Not going to happen. I looked at the squads of all the big teams and England is prob 3. Dutch and Belgium squads are relatively poor as is Brazil. Overall quality looks poor this World Cup. France look good as do Spain and England and maybe Germany but after that it drops

I think this might finally be the World Cup we see a new winner maybe one from Africa.

I like the Senegal team a lot and think Norway could go far.

 

[Topside]

I think this might finally be the World Cup we see a new winner maybe one from Africa.

I like the Senegal team a lot and think Norway could go far.

Be nice to see a underdog win it tbh, I like a WC bet did Argentina last time 8/1 and had France in a sweepstake where if you get final you get paid out.

Portugal have a good squad, England, Spain and France also.

I did Ecuador to reach last 8 at 6/1.

 

[Rex Caudillo]

Be nice to see a underdog win it tbh, I like a WC bet did Argentina last time 8/1 and had France in a sweepstake where if you get final you get paid out.

Portugal have a good squad, England, Spain and France also.

I did Ecuador to reach last 8 at 6/1.

Turkey are a good bet to get the last eight imo because they have a p*ss easy group and if they top it they could be facing some awful teams on their side of the draw.

 

[cannon]

I think this might finally be the World Cup we see a new winner maybe one from Africa.

I like the Senegal team a lot and think Norway could go far.

It will be one of the big European teams their squads are way better and have depth

 

[cannon]

Turkey are a good bet to get the last eight imo because they have a p*ss easy group and if they top it they could be facing some awful teams on their side of the draw.

They never perform much like Mexico

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Desperation really, lack of faith in his teammates, no top players to defer/share the responsibility with.

He should still do better but I also don’t blame him tbh.

For a guy who have been playing at world class level or close to it (for those who dont agree) and wanting to take it to next level while also having to deal with one of the worst hamstring injury you can get without a proper rest at the same time, it just feel like a deadly combo. Sometimes you can see him trying something that was his bread and butter before injury but his body fails him because he has no trust in it.

Doesnt excuse though some of the stuff he does. His biggest attribute is his IQ on the field. He needs to lean in it more and adapt. Arteta needs to help him tactically. They need to sit down before next season and find ways. I think some change of an role might be best fit because he aint getting the rest he needs to properly work on his physical issues.

 

[Topside]

It will be one of the big European teams their squads are way better and have depth

Agree, simply apart from the variables of KO football.

Three group games. Last 32,16, 8, SF and a final.

Just depth comes into it, injuries, suspensions and rotation. I'm sure there will be a surprise package but 8 games in 5 weeks .......after a long season, tough.

 

[nWoneri]

Mentioned it during the season, even back against Burnley away (ffs) - that Saka has become too ****ing selfish for his own good.

Hero this, hero that - man two times yesterday all he had to do was ****ing cut back and we would probably have a real goal scoring opportunity.

I wish he was Kaka so he doesn't need to cut back, but he isn't, he is a good player and that is all. Not a World Class player, and very overrated in my humble opinion. Also not 300k worthy but he was there since the **** era so I will give him that.

I will admit he was good until Arteta buried him to the ground, but generally his mindset was very poor and selfish, he didn't resemble that intelligent Saka that did assist so much earlier, he just wanted to hog the fame for himself.

Just felt he lost a few of his braincells over the past season with his horrid decision making.

Max will claim that RHS spot if Saka doesn't perform.

 

[Entropics]

There was no hero ball, man just wanted us to have more than 1 shot on target

 

[The Ducking Duck]

Saka was disappointing for sure but it was a very difficult game for him since he was asked to play as a right back.

 

[cannon]

He was never lightning but had a decent turn or speed but seems he has no pace now and you can’t be a winger with no pace at all

 

[gunman90]

His decision making has been absolutely atrocius this season. One of his main strengths imo was his intelligence and making the right pass at the right. He did well defensively yesterday, but he has becoming greedy as heck. That one pass where he refused to pass it to Havertz who was in acres was unforgivable and PSG nearly scored from it as a result.

 

[Aubamabludclat94]

The moment it was revealed he had achilles tendonitis, we should’ve realized he’ll likely never be the player we thought he could turn to. He was never physically elite to begin, now he’s lost even that tiny edge, I just don’t see it getting better. Achilles issues are a ***** to deal with. He’ll eventually have to be sideline for half a season to properly recover, snap it off and have to do surgery and rehab, or just keep managing it for the rest of his career and have a good game every 3-4 weeks. All while we likely have a generational talent that continues to grow in skill and confidence right behind it. It’s time to start reading the tea leaves. You have to prepare to make him a transitional player that helps Dowman hit the ground running

 

[lightroy79]

Madueke, Goykeres, Martinelli and (to a lesser extent) Eze deserve significantly more criticism than Saka.

By the time those 4 came on the pitch, PSG already removed most of their key players. It was effectively our second team Vs their second team, and our second team was stronger than theirs.

You'll see me hammer this point many times on here. Because that's the one thing I couldn't understand and still can't accept.

How is it possible to put on Madueke, Goykeres, Martinelli and Eze against a tired PSG with their most dangerous players already subbed off, have almost zero impact on the game? They produced nothing. They couldn't mount basic attacks. No circulation of the ball. It was unreal.

It was kind of a disgrace if you think about it.

Our first XI did their job as far I'm concerned. They should have done better obviously but they did the bare minimum. They kept PSG at bay to the point where PSG had no choice but to remove their most dangerous players.

Our subs performed shockingly & that's just an undeniable fact. They should have swung the game.

Totally agree with this our 'finishers' weren't effective but I partly put that down to arteta as he didn't give them the environment to thrive. We have seen Gyok, Madueke and Martinelli together a few times and it's a really bad mix. Especially with Havertz dropping in to midfield as Eze didn't come on till later. Arteta should have kept either Trossard or Saka on to help link play and put Eze on earlier and not gone full pace no guile. A lesson I hope he learns quickly

 

[Barry]

Is he good enough to be our main attacking threat?

I understand injuries have clearly affected him, but does he have the talent level of Ben Arfa, Olise, Salah, Robben or Hazard to be the focal point on the right and take us to the next level?

His decision making this season is way worse than before

At his best he's one of the best players in the world, he's shown that many times. He's not at his best now though, that's the problem. Just hope it's not something that's injury related and permanent

 

[Barry]

Madueke isn't good enough for anything more than a squad player, realistically we need to bring in someone who is right now around Sakas level and can play as much as him out there. We are looking at 60 game seasons, we really need someone else of top quality out there because Saka definitely needs better competition.

I don't think we can though on the right side. You have Dowman breaking through with potentially world class potential, a £50m signing from last season and then Saka who isn't going to go yet (and shouldn't either). There just isn't a realistic way to bring in another.

The WC timing is really bad because it's so obvious that Saka needs rest as others have said. This just feels like a problem we have to live with for a season and manage as best we can. The left side needs to be good enough to compensate though. Saka's still going to offer a lot when fit but we can't over play him

 

[GoonerJay24]

At his best he's one of the best players in the world, he's shown that many times. He's not at his best now though, that's the problem. Just hope it's not something that's injury related and permanent

I agree, at his best his contributions are obvious. But we're not seeing that consistently for 2 seasons. Everybody is eager to sell Ødegaard for his form yet Sakas is overlooked