Pep has already name dropped him a couple of times. Expecting a 100 mill bid for him if we struggle for another few seasons. Of course it all depends on his development as well.
Saka
invisibleman18 Great news. Bit of a shame it's not longe
four years is massive tbf
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goon Nothing wrong with him leaving in 6-7 years anyway. Like Sterling I’d expect him to peak early and decline early given how much football he’s played from a young age.
SEVEN years, please. I sort of have the same thoughts as you, really. I would imagine we'll get his next renewal done, all things being equal, and then the next one is perhaps the one where we will end up bidding him a fond farewell.
That said, the long read Arsenal have done on him is fascinating, especially the bit around his ability to take on more loading and his ability (and I think we have to think of it as an ability) to not just stay fit, but thrive despite the increased load. He's just backed to back two ever present seasons in the Premier League with a World Cup in the middle and the Euros at the beginning. So, whilst I tend to agree that come 27-28, we MIGHT have seen his best years, it's possible that this won't be the case.
On top of that, and I get he may well want a new experience in a few years time, this is a lad who absolutely loves Arsenal Football Club and it's clear that the feeling is absolutely mutual, We all love him based on 90 minutes every week, and whatever we hear him say in the media. Can you imagine the impact he has around the first team and at London Colney every day? I'm sure Arsenal will move heaven and earth to keep him as long as we can.
A Liverpool mate of mine got in touch yesterday, claiming that Saka's agent had "rinsed" Arsenal. I said, from where I'm standing the kid's been our player of the year back to back, he's been ever present two seasons in a row and has probably been underpaid relative to his ever increasing output. If he is being overpaid now, and I don't necessarily accept that he is, then he absolutely deserves it. Plus, I'd much rather it was us overpaying him than anyone else!
This is lovely, by the way, if anyone hasn't seen it: https://www.arsenal.com/news/watch-saka-chat-wrighty-after-signing-new-deal
RocktheCasbah SEVEN years, please.
double it.
Burnwinter honestly, I think that winning the league in the future would accelerate his departure.
It feels like the era of one club players has gone but you never know. Coming through the academy, coming from London, becoming such a huge part of the team so early in his career. It might all be enough to keep him. Family and home might be a big enough draw to keep him.
The other side of that is that we then need to be a club worth staying at, not one where at the end of his career he'll only be able to look back on title challenging seasons with the odd FA cup win.
I think the love for the club stuff doesn't really count in the end i anymore if you don't win trophies. Especially for players of the potential talent of Saka. So that never 2-3 years is important for that as well. We need to transition to a team a player like Saka can see as where he can win the big trophies.
Qwiss About ninety percent of what he's said lately has been playing down the Haaland factor, and playing up his own decisive role in City's successes this season.
That's all he's thinking about, along with the corruption charges, which he's been talking nonsense about too ...
If true like I said earlier, his agent earning his commission.
Agent smart. Wants an escape clause if we suck in future
Do release clauses apply or not? I thought after the whole Suarez debacle it didn’t matter in England
Bellingham is overused even worse. But the stats for Saka don't look good.
Other than Robben, most of the names above him tailed off earlier than expected in their careers
They also missed out Fabregas and Tielemans who both played around 13k minutes
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Those stats look a bit odd to me for Saka. He is going to be 22 in Sept right? so if its games before he turned 20 almost all of the last 2 season dont count.
We saying he has played 140 games before that..? doubt it.
I don't think there's a such thing as being overplayed in football.
You can definitely overplay someone but doesn't make sense comparing Bellingham and Saka with the likes of Scholes and Beckham who broke through 30 years ago because of changes in training methods and monitoring over that time.
Clrnc Bellingham is overused even worse. But the stats for Saka don't look good.
Not having a crack, but don't you think it's a bit daft to say all this about … senior minutes? Every other bright young player is playing a match or two a week as well, they're just playing U21s or whatever. Footballers on a professional track at that age play a lot of football.
I do accept senior minutes are tougher, harder, greater pressure and risk, but still. In terms of aggregate wear and tear I think these figures are too partial to be relevant. All they measure is Saka's outstanding maturity as a player of his age (and that of others).
I don't think youth footballers are half as likely to be pushed through periods where they are in the red as senior players. Comparing someone playing U23s to someone playing Premier League and Champions League seems a bit silly to me.