England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has had an impressive start of the season, with a combined of 18 goals and assists in as many appearances for the Gunners. Due to his performance, the buzz around the 23-year-old is growing, with the press asking Mikel Arteta if he could emulate his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
“To look is always good. The way Cristiano started his career, and when he joined Manchester United, nobody probably expected in the first few seasons he would be able to do that,” Arteta said, before explaining what made Ronaldo grow in the league.
“It was about his mentality, his work ethic, how he developed his skill, his chemistry with his team and to play in a team that has the capacity as well to be dominant. That is very, very important,” he said. Before adding: “I think Bukayo has got that context and if he is aiming for that, I think it is a positive thing.”
While this season, Saka’s goal contributions are only surpassed by Mohamed Salah’s in the Premier League, emulating Ronaldo is another entirely different thing. In the Premier League, the Portuguese is one of the 33 players to have surpassed the 100 goals (103).
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had an even bigger impact in Europe, winning five Champions League titles (being the first man to do so) and becoming the competition’s all-time goalscorer.
Arteta thinks Saka will improve
However, Arteta believes that Bukayo’s contributions to the team this year are beyond the numbers, even though they are pretty good. “He is providing something else. He is adding things to his game, he is more and more consistent, and his numbers in terms of impact in goals and assists is incredible at this stage of the season,” he said.
“He can only improve, he can only get better. He has got the right players around him to continue to do so and especially because he wants more,” he added. Currently, Arsenal sit third on the Premier League standings, just behind Liverpool and Chelsea.