The international break is a welcome distraction for Premier League fans, but Arsenal supporters had something to celebrate last night.
England manager Thomas Tuchel started Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, and brought on Eberechi Eze midway through the second half of the World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
It wasn’t the most memorable game, but the Gunners’ star trio all played well, especially Saka and Eze.
But so far this season, both have outperformed another former Hail Ender who left the club at a young age.
Saka & Ez UK performance
Alongside Rice, Saka started for England on Thursday night, reminding everyone why he should and will be among the top names on the team sheet in the summer.
The Hale End icon was always a threat for the Three Lions and took the lead with a sensational volley from a considerable distance after just 28 minutes.
This was the kind of goal that could never be replicated by lesser players, as evidenced in the second half when the Serbian player tried and failed to do it.
However, he didn’t just score a goal, he simply disappeared into the shadows. In 94 minutes of play, the 24-year-old made one important pass, made three shots, completed 100% of his dribbles, completed one clearance, won 66% of his ground duels and recovered the ball five times.
Eze, no less than his team-mate, came on in the 64th minute and immediately became a threat with his hits against the wooden frame, before scoring his own goal in the 90th minute.
But this wasn’t just any goal, as he sent a superb shot into the top corner, giving the Serbian keeper no chance to save.
Overall, it wasn’t a great night for England, but it was a great night for Arsenal’s national team, who continue to perform for both club and country.
That being said, both Saka and Eze have lost to another former Hail Ender who left North London as a child.
Ex-Arsenal player better than Saka and Eze
The unfortunate reality is that it is inevitable that any club, let alone one of Arsenal’s size, will lose out on more than a few incredibly talented young players over time.
It’s well known that it’s difficult to predict how good a prospect will actually be, and even if teams want to keep them, it’s not always possible.
That seems to have happened with Michael Oliseh, who chose to join Chelsea’s youth set-up and leave the Gunners as a youngster.
However, he never made an appearance for the Blues and, after a few more transfers, he ended up at Reading, where he made his senior debut before eventually joining Crystal Palace for an £8 million transfer.
It was at Selhurst Park that the young Frenchman made his name. His 16 goals and 25 assists in 90 appearances was enough for Bayern Munich to splash £50m on him last summer.
To describe the Hammersmith-born star’s first season in Germany as a success would be a huge understatement. He played in 55 games for a total of 3,842 minutes, recording 20 goals and 23 assists.
That means he’s involved in a goal on average every 1.27 games, or every 89.34 minutes, and shows no signs of slowing down this year.
For example, he played in 17 games and played a total of 1358 minutes, scoring 7 goals and 7 assists, which means that he is involved in a goal on average every 1.21 games, or every 97 minutes.
With such outrageous numbers, it’s easy to see why Oliver Glasner described the Frenchman as “one of the greatest talents in the world”.
Olise vs Saka vs Eze | |||
|---|---|---|---|
player | Olise | of | Eze |
game | 17 | 14 | 15 |
begins | 15 | 11 | 11 |
minutes | 1358 minutes | 963 minutes | 973′ |
the goal | 7 | 6 | 2 |
assist | 7 | 0 | 3 |
All stats via Transfermarkt | |||
For comparison, Saka has played in 14 games this season, scoring six goals, while Eze has played in 15 games so far and has been involved in five goals.
After all, it’s no wonder Arsenal fans wouldn’t want to trade their talismanic number seven for anyone in the world, and the former Crystal Palace star is starting to gain momentum. But a team with them and Olise will definitely be nearly unstoppable.
