Paul Merson has labelled Liverpool transfer target Bukayo Saka as a ‘talent’ and thinks the player will sign a ‘big contract’ at Arsenal, as he told Sky Sports.
The former Arsenal midfielder added that Bukayo Saka now needs to make sure he ‘keep on doing’ what he is currently producing for the next seven+ years.
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced teenager when Unai Emery was in the Arsenal dugout and now he is a regular under Mikel Arteta.
Added to that, he is also a regular for his country, helping England to the final of Euro 2020 and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be on the plane to Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Despite scoring at Old Trafford over the weekend, Saka watched his side slump to their first defeat of the new Premier League season as they chase Champions League football.
If Arteta is to reach that next step, then he needs players like Saka at their very best because he is one of the first names on his teamsheet, as Merson shared his thoughts on the Hale-End academy product.
On Saka’s next phase: “Keep on doing what he is doing,” said Merson. “That’s what makes top, top players. You just keep on doing it. He is only just turned 21.
“He has got another seven or eight years at the top level ,at the very least. He needs to make sure when he is getting interviewed at 29, that carries on and that’s when you are a top player.
“People like Roy (Keane), Scholes, Jimmy (Floyd Hasselbaink), Bergkamp and Henry. They stayed at the top. Fabreags’ numbers there (52 goal involvements before turning 21 compared to Saka’s 34), you have to remember who he was playing with.
“I think the kid is a talent. He plays in a hard position. You play on the wing, then you are sweating on midfield players. I do like him, but the acid test is that he will sign a big contract, and then you kick on.”
WILL SAKA SIGN A NEW CONTRACT?
Arsenal have concluded a number of top deals this summer, including bringing in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
But the best deal the Gunners can conclude is for their star boy to sign a new long-term contract, with clubs in Europe sniffing for his signature.
Liverpool and Manchester City are clubs mentioned as admirers of Saka, but those in north London are going to be hopeful he stays put.
Since the money rolled in at the Etihad, a number of Arsenal players have left for the current Premier League champions, but this is where Arsenal stick their chest out and makes sure it now stops.
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