football | Tuesday, February 7, 2023 12:26 PM (Revised at: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 1:13 PM)

Silvestre: Saka is Too Honest, He Could Earn More Free Kicks and Penalties

Devang Prasad

Arsenal’s resurgence under Mikel Arteta has seen the club go from strength to strength with the Gunners leading the Premier League standings.

One of the key men for Arsenal’s title charge has been Bukayo Saka. The English winger has scored seven and assisted seven in 20 Premier League games so far this season. To discuss Saka’s impact, we talked to former Arsenal man Mikael Silvestre who gave his viewpoint.

In this article:

Saka is hungry for more goals
Improved decision making down to experience
Saka tries too hard to stay on his feet – getting a free-kick isn’t bad

Saka is hungry for more goals

The Frenchman was all praise for the Hale End product, commending his abilities and noticing that he’s been hungrier for goals ever since he returned from an impressive World Cup campaign.

“Looks like he’s getting more hungry for goals.”

“He’s been clinical in the last third. Delivery, finishing. He’s creating a lot of issues for defenders, 1-v-1, 1-v-2. Teams are trying to double up on him.”

“He’s also not staying out wide. He’s coming in more often now and in the six-yard box as well, he’s showing more presence.”

Improved decision making down to experience

Saka’s statistics this season are an indicator of great decision making in the final third and in Silvestre’s opinion, that’s down to the regular game time he’s gotten.

“That decision making comes with experience. The more games he’s played, the better he got.”

“He’s a clever player. You could see from the beginning that he’s always trying to improve his game and learn. He’s eager to learn.”

“Every game for him is a step forward.”

Improved decision making down to experience

Earlier this season Silvestre had talked about Saka not being ‘streetwise enough’ but the Frenchman believes that the Arsenal winger is improving in that regard.

Still, he feels that Saka tries too hard to stay on his feet and can do better when it comes to drawing fouls.

“I think he’s getting there. It’s either being rough, or sometimes he’s trying to stay on his feet at all cost. Fair play to him but getting a good free-kick or penalty wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“Again, the more games he plays, the better in that aspect he’ll get. He’s still very young so it’s frightening.”