9 outrageous stats that prove Bukayo Saka is currently the best player in world football
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has arguably taken his game to new heights, having kicked off Arsenal’s 2024-25 campaign in exceptional form.
Saka has been the outstanding individual for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who remain unbeaten in all competitions and are only a point behind league leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
The 23-year-old produced another exceptional display as Arsenal came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1, setting up Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli for the first two goals before sealing the three points with a fine goal of his own in the closing stages.
“For sure,” responded Arteta in his press conference following the Southampton win, when asked whether Saka is showing more leadership this season.
“That’s the maturity and that’s the steps that players have to do. He’s been in the team long enough to have that role. When you want to be at the top players have to make those moments to change the game. He did that again.”
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Here are nine stats that prove just how good Bukayo Saka has been so far this season:
– No player in any of Europe’s five major leagues – Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga – has registered more assists than Saka in 2024-25 so far. The Arsenal star is out on his own in the top spot with seven assists.
– Saka has either scored or assisted in all but one of Arsenal’s seven Premier League outings so far this season.
– In the one game that Saka didn’t register a goal or assist – Arsenal’s 4-2 victory over Leicester City – he produced a ridiculously lively individual performance, notching seven shots, two on target, eight completed dribbles and eight key passes. He received a WhoScored rating of 9.6/10, which is his highest of the season so far and only bettered by Cole Palmer’s 10/10 four-goal haul against Brighton. Saka also sent in the ball that led to Wilfred Ndidi’s injury-time own goal, so effectively got the match-winning assist if not officially so.
– Saka is averaging an assist every 81 minutes and a goal or assist every 63 minutes. That’s the same rate of direct goal contribution as Erling Haaland, who currently leads Europe’s five major leagues for total goal contributions in 2024-25 so far.
– He’s received WhoScored’s Man of the Match for the player with the highest match rating in each of Arsenal’s last three outings in all competitions. He’s also received more WhoScored MotM ratings (four) than any other player across Europe’s five big leagues.
– Across Europe’s big leagues, only Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush (8.38) and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (8.28) can boast a higher averaging match rating than Saka (8.27) so far in 2024-25.
– Only Cristiano Ronaldo (118), Raheem Sterling (110) and Ryan Giggs (92) have notched more combined goals and assists at the age of 23 than Saka (91) in Premier League history. And Saka doesn’t turn 24 until September 2025, by which time he’ll surely have surpassed Giggs and could potentially be up there with Sterling and Ronaldo in terms of his numbers.
– Against Southampton, Saka became only the second Premier League player in the last 10 seasons to register 3+ goals/assists and create 4+ chances after Kevin De Bruyne against Watford in 2019 – via @StatMuseFC
– Saka has now notched 27 key passes (the final pass before a team-mate shoots at goal) so far in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign. That’s the most of any player across all of Europe’s major leagues.