Bukayo Saka: How Good Can He Become?

[Tsl]

The people who are commenting on Reiss, have you seen him play at Hoffenheim? He is not afraid to take the take on anymore. He is an exellent dribler, just out of confident last season.

 

[juice man]

Ah, yes, the classic hyper optimism for a youth player we’ve only seen play once.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Ah, yes, the classic hyper optimism for a youth player we’ve only seen player once.

Yeah tend to agree with this, we need to be careful here. I remember after the goals Nketiah got last season everyone thought he'd be our Rashford and it's not even be close to that. He had some impressive moments but it tells us that he has talent but nothing else. There's been plenty who had talent but amounted to nothing here.

 

[MutableEarth]

I honestly did not think he would impress as much as he has this early - I mean, he's a huge talent who's risen very quickly but it's still somewhat surprising to see him rinsing full-backs in Europe on his full debut. He's very raw but he has every quality we need in a wide player. I've thought that he could get into the team at LB at some point in the future but I'm beginning to take that back - think left or right wing is where he'll shine. His directness, willingness to take on opponents and acceleration will stand him in good stead. His movement is also very good for his age. Despite his miss, he can definitely shoot aswell.

I wouldn't go all in on him right now. He's very, very young. Getting these kind of opportunities is good for him but I think PL's a long way away. Smith-Rowe was putting in work in the U23s but they still let him cook for a while before he started playing this season. Saka needs to continue putting in work for a bit. He's got a foot in the door, now he needs to build on it behind the scenes. He might end up stepping up a level before the end of the season but I think he should start seeing proper minutes next season. Maybe a few more appearance where possible this season.

We need someone with his pace and dribbling so there's a real gap for him to exploit in due time. I'd be surprised if he fills it in the near future but he has as good a chance as anyone. We've got a few from Hale End in Nelson, Saka and Amaechi who could play wing to a high standard. I'm anxious to see them get opportunities in an appropriate setting.

 

[Preacher]

He is only 17 years old. I repeat, he's only 17(!) Massive performace. One to watch in the future.

 

[HBL]

Yeah tend to agree with this, we need to be careful here. I remember after the goals Nketiah got last season everyone thought he'd be our Rashford and it's not even be close to that. He had some impressive moments but it tells us that he has talent but nothing else. There's been plenty who had talent but amounted to nothing here.

Bit different when you have two world class strikers ahead of you

 

[MutableEarth]

Yeah tend to agree with this, we need to be careful here. I remember after the goals Nketiah got last season everyone thought he'd be our Rashford and it's not even be close to that. He had some impressive moments but it tells us that he has talent but nothing else. There's been plenty who had talent but amounted to nothing here.

Except in the two games Nketiah has played this season, he's been impressive and the only reason people are even debating whether he's good enough is because he didn't score in those two games. I firmly believe if he had played games earlier this season, he would have already scored by now.

 

[kraphtous]

Except in the two games Nketiah has played this season, he's been impressive and the only reason people are even debating whether he's good enough is because he didn't score in those two games. I firmly believe if he had played games earlier this season, he would have already scored by now.

It's not about the goals though, Nketiah's overall performances have been poor. I'm disappointed by his lack of technical skills, which is the opposite of all of our other talents that have played in the first team. He needs to improve a lot and soon because right now he is not ready at all.

 

[MutableEarth]

It's not about the goals though, Nketiah's overall performances have been poor. I'm disappointed by his lack of technical skills, which is the opposite of all of our other talents that have played in the first team. He needs to improve a lot and soon because right now he is not ready at all.

I absolutely disagree with all of this, couldn't disagree more.

 

[DasBootist]

Nketiah>Mhkitaryan

 

[MutableEarth]

Obligatory video posts:

 

[Maybe]

Yeah tend to agree with this, we need to be careful here. I remember after the goals Nketiah got last season everyone thought he'd be our Rashford and it's not even be close to that. He had some impressive moments but it tells us that he has talent but nothing else. There's been plenty who had talent but amounted to nothing here.

For start, Rashford was given a chance and Nketiah got only 2 games. He can have all the talent in the world but if he can't get chances at the right time of his career then he will end up in league 2 like others before him. Up until now we were just happy to give playing time to Elnenys and Welbecks and we did everything to limit time for our youth players, and at the same time our youth teams got some excellent results and produced top talents.

 

[#254]

It's not about the goals though, Nketiah's overall performances have been poor. I'm disappointed by his lack of technical skills, which is the opposite of all of our other talents that have played in the first team. He needs to improve a lot and soon because right now he is not ready at all.

Resoundingly disagree. Watched him play against Qarabag and thought he was really dope and just unlucky on the goal front!
Well, other than that he did all you'd expect from a cf and even created a chances for his strike partners .

I think he's got real recipes to become a a top top player in the future. Hell, with his skill set, hustle and swagger, he could just turn out to be the return of the King himself! (Feel free to quote me in the future when it happens )

I think he tries too hard sometimes to impress the manager when he plays for the first team to show that he is really ready for that challenge and ends up messing up some of his good work. Just needs to calm down a level and his quality will manifest!

All in all, I think the kid is class and together with Saka, Willock, ESR, Reiss and Meadly we really have a strong spine for the future, especially since they'll all likely play with Torreira , Guandouzi, AMN and Bellerine who are only a few years older than them.

 

[kraphtous]

Resoundingly disagree. Watched him play against Qarabag and thought he was really dope and just unlucky on the goal front!
Well, other than that he did all you'd expect from a cf and even created a chances for his strike partners .

I think he's got real recipes to become a a top top player in the future. Hell, with his skill set, hustle and swagger, he could just turn out to be the return of the King himself! (Feel free to quote me in the future when it happens )

I think he tries too hard sometimes to impress the manager when he plays for the first team to show that he is really ready for that challenge and ends up messing up some of his good work. Just needs to calm down a level and his quality will manifest!

All in all, I think the kid is class and together with Saka, Willock, ESR, Reiss and Meadly we really have a strong spine for the future, especially since they'll all likely play with Torreira , Guandouzi, AMN and Bellerine who are only a few years older than them.

I hope you are right but I don‘t have great hopes for Willock and Nketiah. Saka and Medley are still unknown quality for me, even though they have impressed in the little time they got. ESR and Nelson are our top talents and will surely make it unless they get some bad injuries.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

For start, Rashford was given a chance and Nketiah got only 2 games. He can have all the talent in the world but if he can't get chances at the right time of his career then he will end up in league 2 like others before him. Up until now we were just happy to give playing time to Elnenys and Welbecks and we did everything to limit time for our youth players, and at the same time our youth teams got some excellent results and produced top talents.

Sorry I must have dream't that he was starting just the other night.

If you're good enough you'll get your chances and you'll certainly not end up in league 2 ffs. People just want to believe that every single promising youngster we have is a world class talent when it's sadly a very very very tiny percentage that will end up making it.

 

[GoonerJeeves]

17.... getting on a bit, time to get rid

 

[Maybe]

Sorry I must have dream't that he was starting just the other night.

If you're good enough you'll get your chances and you'll certainly not end up in league 2 ffs. People just want to believe that every single promising youngster we have is a world class talent when it's sadly a very very very tiny percentage that will end up making it.

OK, let's consider how many players did make it here or at least they played in some of the top leagues and they were considered top talents at our club: Fabregas, Vela, Bendtner, Gibbs, Djorou, Wilshere, Clichy... We can also consider the likes of RVP, Senderos, Flamini, Eboue, Toure, Adebayour, Ramsey, Song etc. who arrived at the club at early age. This is not a tiny percentage, getting young talented players was the main focus of our club from 2004-2009 and I would say we did pretty well through that period.
All of them got a lot of chances here and some of them were Arsenal top players while others moved and made decent careers elsewhere.
After 2010 something changed at our club and we start to import experienced bang average players and cut opportunities for youth players with absolutely dire results. Out of top 4, filled with overpaid dross and without any emerging talent.
Now, you can say that I'm just talking rubbish here, but it's clear that there is a change in transfer policy and we brought in some gems like Torreira, Douzi and Mavropanos in a short time, which would suggest that the club is moving back to working with young unproven talents and making stars of them.
This season is very hard for Emery, there is a lot of pressure to get back to top 4, win EL and maybe one domestic cup, but after we get back on track I think that the guys like Nketiah, Saka and ESR will get more chances here, and not giving new contracts to Ramsey and Welbeck would also suggest that we have new plans for next season.

Talent is just part of the story, you need to have club structure and manager who will create environment for talented players to succeed.

 

[Batman]

Was quite impressed with Saka. He showed a willingness to take players on in contrast to Reiss Nelson who doesn’t seem to have transferred that (not yet anyway) from youth football to the seniors.

Pitting our young players against each other like Ramsey and Wilshere all over again when we should just be enjoying their development. #whysmandoingthis ?

 

[field442]

Pitting our young players against each other like Ramsey and Wilshere all over again when we should just be enjoying their development. #whysmandoingthis ?

Who's pitting anyone against each other? It's an observation from what i saw in those 90 minutes compared to Nelson's cameos in the Europa last season. I couldn't give a **** about either of them at this stage in their careers as they're both nowhere near the first team (and before anyone says "why did you make a thread about him then?", i didn't, someone took my post from the match day thread and created this topic).

 

[juice man]

Yeah tend to agree with this, we need to be careful here. I remember after the goals Nketiah got last season everyone thought he'd be our Rashford and it's not even be close to that. He had some impressive moments but it tells us that he has talent but nothing else. There's been plenty who had talent but amounted to nothing here.

Can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been convinced that a player would become top class only for them to stagnate and in some cases fade into obscurity.