Bukayo Saka was magnificent for Arsenal during the 2021/2022 campaign, as the youngster played a major part in Arsenal’s push for Champions League qualification. His importance to the team was epitomised by the fact that he was awarded the Player of the Season award.
And the youngster has carried the quality of his previous campaign displays into the current season. This has been highlighted by the fact that the youngster has been shortlisted in back-to-back years to win the Kopa Trophy award.
After unfortunately missing out last year to Barcelona’s Pedri, Saka seems determined to be awarded the trophy this time around. This is clear by the fact that the Englishman’s statistics read much better than last season.
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Last season in the Premier League, Saka averaged 0.3 goals per match, which led to 272 minutes per goal for the youngster. This also meant that he had a shooting success of 11.3% after scoring three big chances.
This campaign, he has shown improvement with an average of 0.4 goals per match and 220 minutes per goal. His shooting success is at 16%, and he has already scored the amount of big chances this season as he did throughout the whole of the last campaign.
Saka has had explosive few weeks by scoring in each of his last three matches, with him being the match-winner in all of those fixtures. He also has five goals and four assists in his last 10 fixtures, which could have helped his push to win the Kopa trophy award.
The Kopa Trophy is organised by France football and is the youth version of the Ballon d'Or award. It was first handed out in 2018 when Kylian Mbappe was awarded the honour.
Since winning the trophy, Mbappe has kicked on to be a world-beater and is already in the conversation as the world's best player just three years after being given the honour. This will provide great motivation for the Arsenal youngster if he comes out successful following the nomination.
The youngster has recorded the second-most assists in the Premier League so far this season. Saka has assisted a teammate on four different occasions. Kevin De Bruyne is the only player to provide more in the division by setting up nine goals, but the fact that Saka is the closest to the Belgian is impressive due to the Manchester City midfielder being considered one of the best and most creative players in the division.
This is a testament to Saka's excellent ability and the trust placed in him by Mikel Arteta. The youngster has had the responsibility to lead the Arsenal attack at times over the last few seasons, and he has responded by fulfilling the task, which should give him a big chance to win the Kopa Trophy award.
Saka will find out if he will be awarded the prestigious trophy on Monday, October 17. The Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place in Paris and will begin at 19:30 BST.
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