Do Arsenal Need to Invest in a Right Winger as Back Up for Saka?

Bukayo Saka is widely regarded as one of England’s most exciting young players. After a youth career with Arsenal, he rose through the ranks to become one of the most important players in the first team.

However, no player is infallible, and Saka may be suffering under the pressure and extended game time his manager puts upon him. Should Arsenal invest in a right winger as backup for Saka should he get injured or lose form? Read our guide to find out.

How Important Has Saka Been for Arsenal?

Saka made his debut for Arsenal’s first team in November 2018, coming on as a sub during a Europa League match against Vorskla Poltava. He wouldn’t make his Premier League debut for the Gunners until January of the following year, when he was subbed on towards the end of a 4 – 1 rout of Fulham.

Since then, Saka’s career at Arsenal has gone from strength to strength. His first goal for the club came in a Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt, and that was to mark the start of a fine run of goal-scoring form.

To date, Saka has scored 46 goals and bagged 52 assists in 203 appearances for Arsenal. He is renowned for his pace, power, agility and positional awareness; always able to find pockets of space and make himself available to receive the ball at the right time.

His efforts were rewarded at the end of the 2020/2021 season when he was voted Arsenal’s Player of the Year.

Does Saka Need Backup?

Saka’s form means he is a mainstay in the Arsenal side and has been integral to the team’s recent successes. However, no player is invincible, and Saka will no doubt be feeling the physical toll of playing so much, despite his young age.

Rotation is a key part of modern football. If you’re looking to back a team on betting platforms such as football 32red, you should be looking for one that rotates consistently with quality backups for every position. This has been something of an Achilles heel for Arsenal, the only realistic replacement they have for Saka is Gabriel Jesus, who has had injury woes and doesn’t play particularly well on the right anyway.

What’s more, bringing in someone to challenge Saka and fight for the jersey could see his performances reach another level. Competition can drive a player on and motivate them to perform beyond their baseline. That’s not to say a replacement would come in to replace Saka, merely to be there and remind him that someone is there to step in should his form take a nosedive.

If Mikel Arteta wants to make a serious title push, bringing in backup for Saka should be at the top of his list of priorities. Who should be on his list of targets?

Who Could Be Brought In?

A club the size of Arsenal is unsurprisingly linked with numerous players over the course of a season. Only one player, however, has been strongly tipped to come in as backup for Saka: Pedro Neto.

The Portuguese winger is currently plying his trade at Wolves, where he has scored 12 goals and made 21 assists in 121 appearances. These may seem like standard stats, but the player is nonetheless highly rated, with a number of clubs reported to be tracking him.

Bringing in Neto could be the perfect solution for the Saka conundrum, and we could see him tempted away from Molineux by a bid this January.

Conclusion

Analysts and fans alike agree almost unanimously that Arsenal desperately need backup for Saka. Over-reliance on a player can be a fatal mistake, and should the unforeseen happen, Arsenal’s title hopes could be in tatters. They will no doubt have a list of targets, but Pedro Neto appears to be the current frontrunner.

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