News
Arsenal’s Ronaldo? Saka is good enough to emulate ‘CR7’
It seems a big ask. After all, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has picked up five Ballons d’Or, a number only surpassed by Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo also showed a capacity to evolve his game from a winger to striker and has displayed impressive longevity that is arguably unmatched in the modern day. He continues to score goals at a prodigious rate for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Arteta, though, hopes that Saka, who has 13 Premier League goals for Arsenal this season, is using the Portuguese legend as a measuring stick.
Following the Gunners’ crushing 6-0 win over Sheffield United, he was asked if Saka should be looking at Ronaldo to become a goal-scoring forward, Arteta said: “I hope he is doing that, because he can become much better.
“He can get in better positions still. His finishing, especially with certain circumstances, has to improve and his timing as well. So he can do better.”
Remarkably, though, the signs are that Saka can match Ronaldo, or at least come very close.
At the same point in Ronaldo’s career, he was in the middle of his spell with Man Utd and about to explode into the type of form that saw him recognised the world over as one of the best in the game.
At his peak, SciSports gave Ronaldo a SciSkill score of 152.5. This is calculated using hundreds of in-game data points to give an accurate measure of just how good a player is.
As a point of comparison, the best player in the world currently is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on 140.0.
This might one day be Saka, though. The Arsenal star is projected to have a maximum ceiling of 149.5, which is just short of Ronaldo. Of course, allowing for a degree of error means that the England winger could climb even higher than ‘CR7’.
Given the appetite the player has shown for improvement, it would be foolish to rule this out.
In Saka, Arteta and Arsenal have the most exciting winger of this generation. Now it’s up to him to show how good he can be.
-
Premier League2 months ago
Chelsea fans praise one player for ‘babysitting Cucurella’ in Newcastle win
-
News3 months ago
Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla: Player ratings as Luka Modric earns vital win
-
Transfer News2 months ago
Chelsea told they’ll have ‘no option but to sell’ £87m star to Arsenal due to FFP issues
-
News2 months ago
The De Zerbi quote that will have Chelsea fans TERRIFIED
-
News3 months ago
Real Madrid ‘reach verbal agreement’ to sign Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich
-
News3 months ago
Mohamed Salah’s furious reaction to Moises Caicedo spotted during Liverpool Carabao Cup win
-
Boxing2 months ago
Fans fear the worst for Jake Paul after Mike Tyson’s frightening social media update
-
Boxing2 months ago
Devastating Anthony Joshua Wipes Out Francis Ngannou in Two Rounds