Arsenal let "best in the world" go for £0, now he looks like another Saka
Arsenal have become a far smarter club when it comes to the transfer market over recent years.
Mikel Arteta and Co have overseen a host of incredible additions to the squad that have turned them from a mid-table side into consistent Premier League and Champions League contenders.
Yet, the North Londoners lag behind their rivals when it comes to the selling side of transfers.
However, at least they don’t lose future stars for nothing anymore, like they did with a current world-class talent who is playing as well as Bukayo Saka.
Youngsters Arsenal released too soon
As with all big clubs, there are a number of international superstars that Arsenal let go as youngsters, only to regret that decision later.
However, unlike a lot of other clubs, they have gone on to re-sign one of them in a statement deal: Eberechi Eze.
The club released the summer arrival as a teenager and after spending time with Fulham, Reading and Millwall’s academies, he’d finally get a professional contract with QPR, where he’d be spotted and signed by Crystal Palace in the summer of 2020.
During his time south of the river, the Greenwich-born dynamo would rack up a brilliant haul of 40 goals and 28 assists in 169 appearances, which was enough to convince his former side to bring him home.
Another player who came back to North London after being released by Arsenal, although to the wrong side, is Harry Kane.
Released after just one season with the Gunners, the young Englishman would go on to join Tottenham Hotspur a few years later, and by the time he left the capital, he had scored 280 goals and provided 63 assists in 435 games.
The England captain is now tearing it up for Bayern Munich, and he’s not the only former Arsenal prospect doing so.
The former Arsenal youngster now looking like another Saka
There are actually two former Arsenal gems plying their trade for Bayern alongside Kane, and one of them is, of course, Serge Gnabry.
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However, while getting rid of the German international was a mistake, the Gunners did at least get a fee for him, which they did not for Michael Olise.
Yes, before spending time in the academies of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Reading, the dynamic youngster spent a short period at the famous Hale End of the North Londoners, before leaving for nothing.
It was during his time with Reading that Crystal Palace spotted him, and in 2021 he earned an £8m move to the South London side.
During his three seasons with the Eagles, the French international scored 16 goals and provided 25 assists in 90 appearances, which caught the attention of Bayern, who agreed to pay £50m for him last summer.
Now, when we say that the 23-year-old is playing ‘like Saka’, we don’t necessarily mean in playstyle, but more in how important he is to his team from an output perspective.
For example, despite missing almost four months of action last year, the Englishman still racked up 26 goal involvements in just 37 appearances for Arteta’s side.
Appearances
62
Minutes
4410′
Goals
24
Assists
26
Goal Involvements per Match
0.80
Minutes per Goal Involvements
88.2′
In comparison, the former Eagles star scored a staggering 20 goals and provided 23 assists in 55 appearances, totalling 3842 minutes.
In other words, he averaged a goal involvement every 1.27 games, or every 89.34 minutes, and as he’s already racked up seven goal involvements in seven games this season, it would be fair to say Oliver Glasner has been proven more than right when he claimed the Frenchman was “one of the best talents in the world.”
Ultimately, Arsenal have a brilliant team this year, but just imagine how dangerous they’d be with Saka and Olise in the squad.
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