Owen Hargreaves told Premier League Productions that Willian and Nicolas Pepe are ‘not even close’ to their ‘gifted’ Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka.
Whilst Saka has been a regular for Arsenal this season, he is now being played on the right by Mikel Arteta where he is thriving and where others have struggled.
Willian has failed to make an impact in that position this season, whilst Pepe hasn’t been able to cement his place in the starting XI since his big-money move last summer.
Former England midfielder Hargreaves hailed Saka’s talents and praised him for keeping his more senior teammates out of the side.
“Everytime I watch him play football, it’s like Marcus Rashford, their energy and effort is there,” said Hargreaves. “They might have ups and downs and they might make mistakes. But just play like that.
“The thing is he can play off the right, he can play off the left and he can be a fullback if he wanted to. But when you are that gifted, you have to play closer to the goal because he affects games.
“You think about Willian all the money they spent in terms of wages and Pepe. He is keeping those guys out of the side and not even close.”
Arsenal fans are now looking towards Saka to lead their charge up the table because it has been a miserable campaign so far.
Whilst Saka is thriving, questions have to be asked of Willian and Pepe, who won’t last in North London much longer if their current form continues.
Given that Willian arrived from rivals Chelsea, and his signing was met with mixed emotion, he may find that the Arsenal fans are a lot less patient with him than his left-footed teammate.
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