- Rio Ferdinand claims Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is not ‘world class’
- The 22-year-old reached 50 goals with two goals for Arsenal in a 6-0 win over West Ham.
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Rio Ferdinand insists Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is not a “world-class” talent despite his stellar performances for the north London side.
Saka, 22, starred in Arsenal’s 6-0 win over West Ham on Sunday afternoon, scoring twice with the net on either side of half-time.
This makes Saka the youngest player in over 40 years to reach 50 goals for Arsenal, and his total goal contribution to exactly 100.
But despite the 22-year-old’s impressive performances, former Manchester United centre-back Ferdinand is not convinced the player is “world class”.
“Not yet,” Ferdinand said on Vibe with FIVE. Listen, I think Saka was unrealistic. I actually think he needs some rest and a lot of games for a young kid.
Rio Ferdinand claims Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is not a ‘world class’ talent
But the former Man United defender admitted the Gunners winger was ‘unreal’
“But I think it’s like, what is world class?” He’s not doing that in the Champions League, right? I’m talking about the nitty gritty,” he said.
“The head of Saka, don’t get me wrong, he’s not world class yet.”
On Sunday afternoon, Saka reached the 50-goal milestone from the penalty spot in the 41st minute, before Gabriel and Leandro Trossard made it 4-0 at the interval.
The 22-year-old added his second goal after the restart, joining Declan Rice in the rout of his former club and capping off the win at the London Stadium with a stunning goal.
Despite such a dominant victory, Saka reflected after the match that Arsenal could have achieved more if they had been more flexible.
“We were down by four points in the first half, so we could have scored more, including myself. I think we smelled blood today and went for the kill.
“We worked really hard to score more. I’m really happy to have achieved that (Arsenal 50 goals). But I don’t know if I can be happy today.
Saka scored twice against West Ham to reach 100 goal contributions for Arsenal.
“We missed some chances where we thought we could have scored. It’s a great achievement. I’m proud of it.”
Elsewhere in the game, the Gunners found the back of the net with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice all finding the back of the net.
Former Hammer Rice easily secured the points with a long-range shot into the top corner.
Despite the incredible offense, Rice managed to have a subdued celebration against his former team.
