Arsenal kickstarted their pre-season tour of America with a thrilling 3-0 victory over MLS outfit Colorado Rapids early this morning with many supporters heaping praise on the youngsters that featured. New signing Gabriel Martinelli scored on his debut but not before goals from James Olayinka and Bukayo Saka. It was the latter’s performance which shone the most in the eyes of some supporters with him being brandished the next Lionel Messi.
Saka opened the scoring in the 13th minute, latching onto a pinpoint through ball from Eddie Nketiah to slot the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper. The winger, wearing number 77, has only featured four times for the senior side since working his way up through the academy ranks. The 17-year-old has played for England’s youth set-up from the under-16s right through to the under-19s despite being of Nigerian descent.
Arsenal fans are excited to see the tricky youngster in action again – and they won’t have to wait too long with their next friendly only days away when they will face Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich back in Los Angeles. During and after the game last night, The Gunners faithful flocked to Twitter to send their thoughts on Saka’s performance.
It’s not the first time that the starlet has impressed Arsenal boss Unai Emery either after making his debut for the club in the Europa League last season – the Spaniard stating he has the ‘personality’ to add quality to the team. Maybe a few more appearances for the senior side is on the horizon next season – if these reactions are anything to go by then Arsenal fans will be very pleased…
You can read the thoughts of some Arsenal fans on Saka’s stunning pre-season performance below:
I don't think I'm being dramatic by saying Bukayo Saka is the next Lionel Messi.
— Adé (@adey_yinkah) July 16, 2019
YEP SAKA IS THE FUTURE OF WORLD FOOTBALL, MESSI, RONALDO COME OUTSIDE WE NEED TO TALK
— 👑 (@elliotafc) July 16, 2019
Saka’s the chosen one
— T (@afcTB) July 16, 2019
Saka’s toooooo cold wid it, deffo needs to be involved more in the 1st team this season
— The People’s Champ 🇯🇲🏴🇵🇰 (@TroopzAFC) July 16, 2019
His better than Iwobi.
— MBA (@AKABOJASEM1) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/benashton_afc/status/1150939233982603265?s=20
Game over, good stuff overall. That last 20 minutes had some terrible shooting but that’s pre-season I guess.
Some really nice moves throughout the game, Saka had to be MOTM. Nice debut from Martinelli, Nketiah put in an underrated performance too.
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) July 16, 2019
Saka getting promoted to the first team if he doesn’t I’ll be baffed – after a year without a winger all going well we could end up with Nelson Zaha Saka
— ThePlugAFC (@ThePlugAFC) July 16, 2019