Former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand has stated that Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka is not “world-class” despite being one of the most exciting players in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old has been a regular in Mikel Arteta’s team since the Spanish coach took over at the Emirates Stadium and the England star has developed into one of the best wingers in the World.
At such a young age, Saka has gone on to play 210 times for the North London club, scoring 51 goals and providing 53 assists for his teammates.
The Arsenal star shun again at the weekend in the Gunners’ 6-0 victory over West Ham on Sunday afternoon, where he picked up a brace to take his tally for the season to 13 in all competitions.
Despite all this Ferdinand has stated that Saka is “not world-class”.
Speaking on the latest episode of Vibe with FIVE, Ferdinand said about the Arsenal star: “Not yet. Listen, I think Saka’s been unreal. I actually think he needs a bit of a rest, so many games for a young kid.
“But I think, it’s almost like what is world-class? He hasn’t done it in the Champions League, has he? I’m talking in the nitty-gritty stages.
“Saka’s top, don’t get me wrong. He’s not world-class yet.”
Saka became the youngest player in more than 40 years to reach 50 goals for Arsenal at the weekend and will continue to make history at the North London club. This is a bizarre claim from Ferdinand as the 22-year-old is certainly world-class and has shown it on several occasions throughout his short career.
Rio is definately wrong…had Saka been a man UTD player am certain he would be purring about him being world class…
He pulls the trigger very fast, which is why he gets the goals, he also possess great balance and vision. These are his three best attributes. It’s because throughout the 90 minutes he performs these attributes on rare occasions and not a constant like Messi type of player. But it’s enough to produce it on the rare occasion to get your team the win. It does sometimes look like he is reserving energy, but he is the premier Leagues most Fouled player without the opposition getting booked. So maybe the Refs should play it more straight and give him more protection rather than turning a blind eye all the time.