Manchester City hero Micah Richards has compared Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka to Invincibles star Robert Pires.
Saka has enjoyed an extremely productive 2022/23 campaign, netting 12 Premier League goals and providing a further ten assists to help his side become the favourites to win this season's league title, currently eight points clear at the top of the table. That kind of form hasn't gone unnoticed either, with pundit Richards now likening him to French legend Pires.
"He reminds me of Saka", the BBC pundit told the rest of the Match of the Day Top Tens show when discussing the Gunners icon. Richards then added: “The way he… On the other side, the way you think he’s not going to beat you and then he just drops the shoulder and then bends it into the far corner.”
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It is high praise indeed for Saka, 21, considering Pires enjoyed some superb seasons in north London, registering a whopping 74 goals and 54 assists during his first five seasons under Arsene Wenger - statistics that are even more impressive when you consider that he operated as a wide midfielder in a 4-4-2 setup.
Of course, Saka's aforementioned statistics are not to be sniffed at either, with only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane managing more direct goal contributions in the league this term. “I’m just happy to help my team", the Hale End academy graduate said after he scored twice and provided an assist during Sunday's 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
"Each game I want to go into the games and try and affect them in the best way to help my team win, whether that’s scoring or assisting. I managed to do that today and help us win the game, so I’m happy again.”
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