There have been very few occasions in recent years when Arsenal have been in need of a goal and Mikel Arteta has withdrawn Bukayo Saka from the game.
Saka has been Arsenal’s most consistent attacking player for much of the past five seasons, and the man who has so often dragged the team forward in times of need.
Against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night, though, there was actually little surprise when Arteta removed Saka from the match, in favour of Noni Madueke. It had been an uncharacteristically sloppy performance by Saka, Arsenal’s captain on the night, as he struggled to create anything of note in the final third. Arsenal were trailing 1-0 when he was replaced, before Madueke then earned the penalty that made it 1-1.
Such an ineffective all-round performance was unexpected, although it was not the first time this season that Saka has been unable to influence a match with a goal or assist. The 24-year-old remains Arsenal’s greatest attacking threat in almost all of their games, but his output has declined in recent months: he has scored two goals and assisted three in his last 21 appearances in all competitions.
If Arsenal are to succeed in their pursuit of major trophies this season, they will need Saka – their star forward and best-paid player – to lead the way again, as he has so often done in the past. Here, Telegraph Sport assesses why his performance levels may have dipped in recent weeks.
Connection with Gyokeres needs work
Wednesday’s Champions League draw with Leverkusen was the 28th match that Saka has played alongside Viktor Gyokeres in Arsenal’s attack. In all of those games, there have been precious few examples of the two players operating on the same wavelength.
Many of Saka’s best performances for Arsenal have come when he has worked in tandem with Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard in forward areas. Odegaard and Havertz have both consistently demonstrated an understanding of Saka’s movements and deliveries, leading to plenty of goals and chances in recent years.
With Gyokeres, it is a different story. In the Premier League this season, Saka has received an average of just 1.9 passes per game from the striker. Last season, by contrast, he received an average of 5.3 passes per game from Havertz.
It is the same the other way around: Saka finds Gyokeres with passes half as often as he found Havertz last season. A consequence is that Saka assisted three league goals for Havertz in 2024-25, but is yet to assist any for Gyokeres in the Premier League.
These numbers illustrate the stylistic differences between Gyokeres and Havertz. Gyokeres is a player who prefers to run in behind and attack the penalty box, while Havertz looks to drop into midfield and take more touches of the ball. There can be no doubt that the German’s approach is better for Saka on an individual level. Perhaps Havertz’s return to full fitness could therefore be the key to Saka rediscovering his best form.
Fewer touches in dangerous areas
Like all top forwards, Saka is at his most dangerous when he runs into the opposition penalty box. But in all competitions this season, he has touched the ball in the opposition’s penalty area 7.5 times per 90 minutes, down from 8.3 and 8.4 in the previous two campaigns.
The lack of a productive on-field relationship with Gyokeres is clearly one reason for this, as is the fact that Odegaard has struggled with regular injury issues this season. Odegaard usually drifts to the right side of the pitch, where he links up with Saka.
It could also be argued that Saka is suffering from the absence of Ben White from the team. Jurrien Timber has had an excellent campaign at right-back but he and Saka do not combine as effectively in attack as Saka and White did in previous seasons. White’s decision-making and timing, in his passes and runs, have often brought the best out of Saka on the right flank.
There have also been tactical shifts this season, which have resulted in Timber playing in more advanced areas of the pitch. As detailed by Telegraph Sport earlier this year, Timber has often been tasked with attacking the penalty area from the right-back position, with Saka staying wide on the touchline. Evidently, this has not helped Saka’s attacking output.
So far this season, Saka is averaging 0.31 goals per game in all competitions, down from 0.41 and 0.47 in the previous two seasons. He is also shooting less frequently.
A secondary issue is that Saka has, at times, been let down by his team-mates. He is creating chances at roughly the same rate as in the previous two campaigns, but his assists per 90 minutes have dropped from 0.45 last season to just 0.17 this season.
Is fatigue catching up with him?
Saka’s durability has been one of his greatest strengths. From 2020-21 to the start of 2024-25, he averaged 46 club games per season. In that time he also made 40 appearances for England. His ability to withstand the rigours of Premier League football was astonishing.
Over time, though, it is inevitable that these demands will have an impact. This weekend’s match against Everton will be Saka’s 40th game of the campaign, and there are signs that he, along with many of his Arsenal team-mates, are now lacking some of their usual physical sharpness.
Saka suffered a nasty hamstring injury last season which forced him to miss three months of action, but there are clearly no concerns within Arsenal about any long-term effects of his surgery: just a few weeks ago, they handed him a new five-year deal that made him the club’s best-paid player.
The problem for Saka, whose position requires multiple high-intensity sprints and changes of direction, is that there will not be much time to rest and recover in the remaining months of this season. Arsenal are going strong in all four competitions and, if all goes to plan, will continue to play matches every three days. Saka will then go to the World Cup with England, so there will not be many opportunities to rest in the summer, either. There is no option but to keep going.