Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is enjoying the best form of his career this season and is earning plenty of plaudits as he goes.
The latest praise he has recieved has come with a target to strive for from a man not exactly popular among the Gunners fanbase in William Gallas. The former France international once captained Arsenal, but the manner in which he left and his subsequent move to north London rivals Tottenham meant any bridges that were left were soon burned.
That has not stopped him waxing lyrical over the current Arsenal poster boy, though Gallas did concede he thinks there could be even more to come from Saka, who is remarkably still just 21 years old despite his abundance of experience.
As things stand, Saka is sitting on a tally of 12 goals and 10 assists in the league alone. To put those figures into perspective, he has already bettered his tally in both metrics from the entirety of last season.
It is not just at club level where the Arsenal academy graduate is excelling, Saka has established himself as one of the first names on the England team-sheet under Gareth Southgate. He played the full 90 minutes against Ukraine last Sunday and came away with an assist and a stunning goal to show for his efforts.
Therefore, it comes as welcome news for all those associated with Arsenal that Saka is thought to be on the verge of putting pen to paper on a new lucrative contract to extend his stay at the Emirates. With bonuses factored in, the deal is rumoured to be worth a whopping £300,00 per-week.
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While that may seem like an eye-watering amount, Gallas has explained how he thinks Saka could be comfortably worth that in the long run and even touted him to compete for the Ballon d'Or if he continues his current rate of improvement.
"With the season that he is having now, I think he is maybe one of the best young players in the world," the ex-Arsenal defender told Genting Casino.
"You’ve got players that are a similar age who are also doing great things. [Erling] Haaland is twenty two. I put him on the roof (laughs). I think you can put Saka just behind him. There are not too many players that are his age that are having a magnificent season.
"It’s good (Saka’s development). Every season he improves and takes his game to another level. I hope he is going to be one of the players that will challenge for the Ballon d’Or in the future because he has the quality for it."
Gallas went on to explain that as Saka gets older, his targets each season should shift. By the time the winger turns 24, Gallas has claimed he expects the Arsenal star to be netting at least 20 goals a season.
There's every chance Saka comes very close to that amount this term, with 10 games still to play as Arsenal aim to end their 19-year wait for a league title.
