Bukayo Saka proved once again why his Arsenal’s talisman after scoring a wonder goal to double Arsenal’s lead against Nottingham Forest.
The visitors defended well in the early stages but an excellent piece of skill by Gabriel Martinelli gave Nketiah a chance in the box, which he duly took. Six minutes later Saka then doubled the lead with a superb long-range effort which flew into the top corner with Matt Turner, who completed a move to Nottingham Forest from Arsenal in the week, left with no chance.
At the end of the game, Saka’s delightful goal was a major topic of discussion among Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole on TNT Sports with the former Premier League stars weighing up the impact of Saka with other left-footed greats such as Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi.
When speaking about the intricacies of his strike, Cole said: “That is a technique he would’ve honed on the streets of London. I don’t think there’s anyone else in world football, apart from the main man who is on the slide now [Lionel] Messi, who has a left foot as good as his coming in from that position. It’s exquisite.” Ferdinand then jumped in to present the case of Salah who scored a very similar goal to Saka’s strike a number of seasons ago.
“I think Salah I’d put ahead of him, just because of the trophies and the seasons he’s already put in, but this kid is on his way to beat him,” he boldly revealed. “Remember Salah was in his late twenties when he was scoring 30+ goals a season. But Saka is without a doubt in the top three right-wingers in the world for me.”
Cole then added: “That Salah comparison is a lot from Rio there, but you have to know that Salah didn’t have the body of experience Saka has at his age now. We’re so lucky to have him playing in this country, Arsenal are lucky to have him. He’s got such great ability and he’s standing on the shoulders of all of those top, top players in world football.
Ferdinand then responded by agreeing with the point made by the ex-Chelsea man. “You’ve hit the nail on the head there Joe, Salah at Saka’s age wasn’t deciding games on the biggest stages. Saka now has proved himself so much and put himself in the conversation for one of the best players in the world.”
