Arsenal star has ‘got away with murder’ after ‘falling quite short’ for Mikel Arteta – pundit | OneFootball

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been told that he has “got away with murder” with the Premier League giants, and he’s been set a “non-negotiable” target.

Saka is arguably Arsenal’s best forward and he has carried the Premier League giants’ attacking load at times over the past few seasons.

The England international was derailed by injuries last season, but he has made a strong start to this campaign by scoring two goals in his first three Premier League outings.

It has been suggested that Saka could be Arsenal‘s only world-class attacker, but former Gunners winger Jermaine Pennant does not think he is in this category.

This is because Pennant has argued that Saka has “got away with murder” in terms of his “numbers and stats” in recent years.

“If you start touting players as world-class, one of the best wingers in the world or the best winger in the Premier League, then you’ve got to be in those numbers. I would say it’s non-negotiable,” Pennant told GOAL when asked whether ten goals should be Saka’s minimum target.

“If you look at Mohamed Salah, he did it for nine years straight – in the bracket of goal contributions, it’s plus 20.

“I think he [Saka] does get away with a bit of murder at times, the numbers and his stats.

“He can put in some absolutely stellar performances but if you look deep and you start digging deep and you look at his stats, compared to top wingers around the globe and who played in the Premier League as well, they fall quite short.”

“He’s probably one of the best in his position…”

While Pennant has been unconvinced by Saka, he has lauded Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard following his great start to the season and has made a major claim about the talented midfielder.

Pennant added: “In that position, for sure [Odegaard can be one of the Premier League’s best].

“He’s scored more goals, more contributions now than he did the whole of last season. This just shows you where he was last season and where he can be and where he can get to.

“This is the form that we saw in the year that Arsenal’s front three was magical – Saka, [Gabriel] Martinelli and Odegaard really drove that team.

“He’s really stepping up. He’s been a leader. He’s the captain. He’s showing by example. If he continues, yes, he’s probably one of the best in that position.”