Arsenal recently signed Bukayo Saka to a luxurious new contract, but the problem is that he hasn’t performed as the star player his payslip would suggest.
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The England international hasn’t had his best season, but it was remarkable how much better Arsenal improved when they brought him on as a substitute for Noni Madueke in last night’s Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen.
Goals and assists aren’t everything, but they are a pretty important currency for star attackers at top clubs, and those numbers only seem to be going in the wrong direction for Saka.
Bukayo Saka’s G/A number continues to decline
See below. A very clear pattern has emerged showing that Saka’s performance peaked two years ago and has clearly been affected by injuries since then…
So far in the 2025/26 season, Saka has scored nine goals and provided five assists in 39 games in all competitions. This is clearly an average performance, but will probably become more of a concern as the season progresses. So far in 2026, the 24-year-old Saka has only two goals and two assists.
Maduke’s minutes have been limited due to Saka’s presence, but he still has seven goals and one assist in 29 appearances, only 19 of which were starts.
Bukayo Saka doesn’t justify huge new contract with Arsenal
According to the Guardian, Saka’s contract runs until 2031, by which time Arsenal will pay him an annual salary of £15m, representing an investment of around £75m.
If Arsenal had agreed such a deal a year or two ago, no one would have noticed, but at this point it looks like the club may have made a big mistake.
Saka’s fitness has been patchy and it is starting to look like it is having an impact on his performance on the pitch.
For a player who has already played so much football from a relatively young age, it would not be surprising to see Saka struggle like other explosive young forwards.
Names like Michael Owen and Marcus Rashford come to mind as players who became important first-team regulars in their teens and peaked much earlier than the standard 25-28 age group.
Bukayo Saka needs a break, but when will it come?
The winger has been playing at a high level almost every three days in recent years, and Saka has had a grueling schedule and now seems in need of a rest.
Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta needs a star man ready to fight for the Premier League title, the Carabao Cup final and continued runs in the FA Cup and Champions League.
While Maduke has shown himself to be a good replacement, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will put their best signing on the bench anytime soon, and every game is likely to be very important at this stage of the season.
After that, he has to think about the World Cup against England, but Saka is almost certain to be on a plane to North America and likely to be included in manager Thomas Tuchel’s first eleven for the tournament.
Arsenal know they have elite talent, which will earn them big paydays and frequent playing time, but as time goes on, those two things start to look like they can’t comfortably go hand in hand.
