Morning all.
Not loads occurring this morning, however Arsenal’s Participant of the Season – as voted by supporters – was revealed to be Martin Odegaard. It’s the second successive season he has received it, and I don’t assume anybody can argue that he doesn’t deserve it. He’s such an instance to the remainder of the staff when it comes to how he performs, the proper mixture of intelligence, approach, dedication to his work on the pitch, and there are issues he can do with the ball that go away you breathless at instances.
I additionally assume it’s truthful to say that if it had been Declan Rice (who completed second) or William Saliba (third), it’d be arduous to argue with that too. Each of them had excellent campaigns, and will simply have merited prime spot. There have been so many gamers acting at very excessive degree, you can transcend that too. Personally, as a lot as I like all three of these guys – and I actually, actually do – if I’d voted I’d have gone with Bukayo Saka as my selection.
Maybe it says one thing about what we have now come to anticipate from him {that a} season by which he scored 20 targets and made 14 assists didn’t see him crack the highest three. Let’s be trustworthy right here, these are unbelievable numbers for a 22 12 months outdated to provide in a season, and I don’t need to hear something about how targets have been boosted by penalties, as a result of it’s not as if it’s a free purpose. He nonetheless had step up, maintain his nerve, and slot that ball house in key moments.
Bukayo Saka nonetheless can’t take a penalty with out the England miss, and the miss in opposition to West Ham final season, being talked about. It’s 0-0 at house in opposition to Bournemouth, the third final recreation of the season, and simply earlier than half-time we get a penalty. Saka takes it, cool as you want, 1-0. 0-0 away at Brighton in early April, he breaks the impasse from the spot. Within the penalty shoot-out in opposition to Porto, bam, keeper doesn’t even get shut. A penalty away at West Ham to make it 2-0, sends the keeper the unsuitable method. One within the North London derby at house to place us 2-1 up, proper down the center as Vicario jumps out of the best way. 1-0 down at house to Fulham in August, he makes it 1-1.
Not everybody can take penalties. Even somebody as sensible as Dennis Bergkamp wouldn’t do it after his miss in opposition to Man Utd in 1999, so I’m not having any downplaying of Saka’s numbers as a result of he’s good at one thing plenty of gamers don’t even have the nerve to attempt. Maybe the factor is with him, our expectations of him are such that we’re in search of 9/10 performances each week, and clearly that doesn’t occur. It didn’t occur for the gamers within the prime three both, that they had their off-days, however rightly or wrongly, if Arsenal wrestle slightly bit, the primary place individuals look to is Saka.
His expertise, his high quality and his consistency have made him one thing of an emblem for this staff, as a result of greater than anybody else during the last two/three seasons, he has been the driving drive of our on-pitch development. He now has gamers like Odegaard, Rice, Saliba and others who share a few of that burden and who’ve taken the highlight off him slightly bit, however I preserve these numbers for a participant of his age are exceptional. This was his first ever season of Champions League soccer, he had 4 targets and 4 assists in 9 matches, and was denied an apparent penalty in opposition to Bayern which I’d have backed him to attain and which might have on condition that second leg a special flavour.
So, as a lot as its value to him, he’d have been my Participant of the Season. As I mentioned although, Odegaard was a worthy winner too, and the perfect factor about this from an Arsenal perspective is that these guys will come again subsequent season able to do it yet again, and to have that a lot high quality at our disposal is an attractive and thrilling thought.
Righto, have a fantastic Saturday people. I’m going to walk into city, and hunt down the optimum sandwich. I don’t know precisely what that’s but, however I do know that’s what I need to eat right now.
Have a superb one.
