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Former Arsenal star explains why Bukayo Saka is not yet world-class
13th September, 2026 01:05 PM
Bukayo Saka may be regarded as one of Arsenal’s leading attacking players, but former Gunners winger Jermaine Pennant believes the England international still has more to do before he can be placed among the world’s elite.
Saka continued his impressive start to the 2026-27 Premier League campaign by scoring Arsenal’s second goal in their 2-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
The 25-year-old has now found the net three times in four league appearances this season, having also scored against Coventry City and Aston Villa.
Across his Arsenal career, Saka has recorded 165 goal contributions in 318 appearances, with 84 goals and 81 assists.
Despite those numbers, questions remain over whether the winger deserves to be described as a world-class player. His output has not exceeded 12 goals in either of his last two complete seasons across all competitions.
Pennant, despite his former association with Arsenal, believes Saka needs to raise his attacking production to the level of players such as Paris Saint-Germain pair Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
“I think there’s potential to be world class, but you’ve got to look at numbers,” Pennant said. “If you look at people who we’re talking about in the same position – [Ousmane] Dembele, who’s going on to win the Ballon d’Or, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – that’s world class.” He told Sports Mole.
“Is Bukayo Saka in the same conversation as those two players? I don’t think so. Until he reaches those numbers, until he’s doing what they’re doing week in, week out.
“Albeit in a different league, but you still see it in Champions League games, you still see it for the national team – until we see that, I don’t think you can say he’s world class.
“Can you say he’s a great player? Absolutely. The world’s best? Not just yet. Can he get there? Yeah, of course he can. But is he? No.”
Saka’s numbers compared with PSG duo
Statistics from the 2025-26 league season provide some support for Pennant’s argument.
On a per-90-minute basis, Dembele produced 0.85 goals and 0.59 assists in Ligue 1, while Kvaratskhelia registered 0.49 goals and 0.24 assists.
Saka, meanwhile, recorded 0.28 goals and 0.24 assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League.
Kvaratskhelia also recorded higher figures than Saka for both attempted and completed dribbles, while his shooting numbers were superior.
The Georgian averaged 4.67 dribble attempts and 2.67 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, compared with Saka’s 4.08 attempts and 2.02 successful dribbles.
He also averaged 3.94 shots and 1.76 efforts on target per 90 minutes, ahead of Saka’s 2.87 shots and 1.09 shots on target.
Dembele’s creative output was even more striking, with the Frenchman averaging 0.76 big chances created and 1.19 through balls per 90 minutes.
Saka’s strongest advantage over the two PSG attackers in the listed statistics came in aerial duels, where he averaged 0.89 wins per 90 minutes.
Despite playing more league minutes than either PSG forward during the 2025-26 campaign, Saka generally trailed them in the key attacking categories.
For the Arsenal winger, however, individual recognition may ultimately matter less than helping the Gunners compete for and win major trophies.
