Arsenal and England ace Bukayo Saka has been told he needs to add some aggression into his game after being dubbed "too nice" by former Gunner Mikael Silvestre.
Saka was arguably England's standout performer at the World Cup before the Three Lions were eventually eliminated at the hands of France at the quarter-final stage. The 21-year-old netted three times, with a brace against Iran and a deft finish against Senegal sealing his place as his nation's joint-top scorer of the tournament alongside Marcus Rashford.
Despite this, ex-Arsenal defender and former France international Silvestre has issued the wide-forward with some advice to help better his game. "Maybe Bukayo Saka is a bit too nice. He needs to be a bit more aggressive,'' the Frenchman told BettingExpert .
"He is extremely nice so he needs more aggressiveness in his game. He has improved in that sense and it can be very tricky sometimes." Silvestre did quickly go on to concede that Saka's all-round game needs very little work, such is his remarkable talent.
"He has done really well for Arsenal and he is still a very young player. If he can get a bit more streetwise, I think he is there.
"For England (their best player was) Saka for being so dangerous, taking on players, causing issues. He got the penalty against France. He was for me, the number one player, in terms of performance, for England.''
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Saka's strong tournament will give Arsenal fans plenty of hope that they can still mount a title challenge, even without crocked striker Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazilian has been forced to undergo knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined for around three months, meaning there is now an even greater need for Arsenal's young guns such as Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard to step up and continue their goal contribution.
Mikel Arteta's men find themselves five points clear at the top of the Premier League after 14 games played, though the general consensus is that nearest challengers Manchester City are still favourites and expected to leapfrog the Gunners at some stage this term.
Though he featured in every game bar one for his country, there is very little rest time for Saka - who is expected to join up with his Arsenal team-mates later on this week upon their return from a mid-season Dubai training camp.
There are some fears that Saka's performances out in Qatar were so impressive that Arsenal may have to increase their initial offer regarding his contract extension.
Both Manchester City and Liverpool have been linked with the winger in the past and his list of admirers is likely to have only grown following Saka's World Cup heroics.
