De Bruyne record beaten by Saka as Martinelli sets Arsenal standards in a revealing stat
Arsenal’s early season form has been led by the performances of young players who are causing a stir in the Premier League.
Gabriel Martinelli has dazzled opponents with his speed and trickery, but William Saliba has also been dominant on defense. Bukayo Saka has continued where he left off last season.
As a young captain, Martin Odegaard is leading the way. Eddie Nketiah, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, and Aaron Ramsdale are all producing when it counts in European competition.
There’s a lot to be excited about with the league’s youngest average age.
After building on a strong start and turning it into a brilliant one – nine wins in ten games – questions and expectations about what Mikel Arteta’s team can achieve this season have been raised.
With a gap between Liverpool and Manchester United already, plus being the form team in the table, not qualifying for the Champions League after ten games would be a huge surprise.
Arteta has a solid foundation for success thanks to the experienced additions of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, both serial league winners over the last five years, but the Gunners still lack players of the caliber of Kevin de Bruyne, according to former defender William Gallas.
Gallas responded when asked where Arsenal players ranked among the best in the league: Gallas said: “I think Martinelli and Saka are still behind De Bruyne, for example.”
Speaking to GentingCasino, he added, “To be among the best, it’s not because you played a few good games and then suddenly you belong there. You need to be consistent and prove throughout the season that you’re at that level, which is not easy because the Premier League is so competitive. You play almost every three days, and top teams play in Europe.
“At the end of the season, we will know how good they are, and even then, we may need another season. Sometimes players can have one great season, and everyone is talking about them, and then they can’t do it for the next season. So top-class players are those who can do it almost every season.”
The Belgian didn’t truly establish himself as a world-class midfielder until he joined Manchester City at the age of 24.
Both Martinelli and Saka are 21 years old, but they are putting up numbers that are far superior to the Belgian’s early seasons at Chelsea and Wolfsburg.
It is, as Gallas says, too early for them to be considered on De Bruyne’s level; he has four league titles, a Player of the Season award, and is one of the best players to ever play in the division, but his rise has set an example for young players.
In his first season with City, he had seven goals and nine assists. Last season, Saka had 11 goals and seven assists. Martinelli received six of each and has four goals and two assists this season while playing his best football to date.
The season will be long for the two stars, both of whom are hoping to qualify for the World Cup, and their consistency once the league resumes after Qatar will determine how successful the Gunners can be.
De Bruyne record beaten by Saka as Martinelli sets Arsenal standards in a revealing stat
