Bukayo Saka: A Season to Prove His Worth
Bukayo Saka has already built a career on reliability. Five seasons in a row with double figures for goals, a 20-goal haul in 2023-24, and a status as the face of Arsenal’s Hale End production line. For a while, it looked like he was accelerating into the bracket of the game’s true global superstars.
Then the brakes went on.
Across the last two seasons, injuries have stripped him of rhythm and continuity, costing him 40 games for club and country and blunting his impact on the biggest stages. Even his World Cup campaign in the summer of 2026 was dragged down by fitness problems, the stop-start pattern refusing to let go.
Yet there is no sense of panic around Saka inside Arsenal circles. Just expectation.
Smith backs Saka to hit previous heights
Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith, speaking to GOAL in association with BestBettingSites.co.uk, sees no reason why the winger cannot snap straight back into his old levels once the Premier League restarts.
“I don't think there's any reason why he shouldn't return to his best form,” Smith said when asked if Saka can rediscover his spark.
“Injuries just can rob you of rhythm and confidence. But if he gets a good period clear of injury now and he can have a good run of games, you'd expect him to come back up to the levels that he was at. No reason why he shouldn't.”
That expectation comes with context. While Saka has been fighting his body, a new wave of wide forwards has been tearing up the landscape. Lamine Yamal has exploded onto the scene. Michael Olise has pushed his ceiling higher. Vinicius Junior continues to set the bar for devastating wing play at elite level.
Saka once looked ready to join that group. The challenge now is to reinsert himself into that conversation, not as a nostalgic pick, but as a current force.
Arsenal’s goals puzzle
Arsenal need him. Not just as a creator, but as a finisher.
Mikel Arteta has chosen stability over a major reset at centre-forward. No new striker has arrived, and Viktor Gyokeres is preparing for his second season at Emirates Stadium after scoring 21 goals in all competitions last term.
Smith believes Saka’s contribution in front of goal becomes even more critical in that context.
“It is so important that Saka can add more goals to the side. Certainly, as well as playing well and creating goals, which he's very good at,” Smith said.
Gyokeres remains something of a curiosity at the top end of the pitch.
“Gyokeres, I wondered what was going to happen with him this summer. Something still might happen, but it's his second season and he got into the 20s for goals in the first, all in. So that's no mean feat. Maybe he'll step up.
“I don't think he's going to become a different footballer, a more sophisticated footballer. He is what he is. But maybe his team-mates know a bit more about him now and can service him better. So yeah, keep our eye on that one. But we obviously need a functioning goal scoring centre-forward.”
The message is clear: Arsenal can’t rely on one source. Saka’s goals matter. Gyokeres’ goals matter. The collective has to carry the load.
Transfer noise on the flanks
Behind all this sits the constant hum of the transfer market.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, now at Atletico Madrid after leaving Manchester City. For now, nothing has moved. No agreement, no breakthrough, just the rumour mill grinding on.
Out wide, the speculation is just as loud. There has been talk of Arteta making a play for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, following surprise links to Real Madrid star Vinicius. If either scenario develops, Saka could find himself sharing the goal-scoring burden from the flanks with a new arrival before the transfer window closes on September 1.
For Arsenal, that deadline is looming. For Saka, so is a different kind of line in the sand: a season to prove that the injuries were a detour, not a turning point.
