'He Has Done Very Well' - Arsenal Hero Hails Nigerian Teenager Ahead Of Derby Vs Chelsea

Published: December 28, 2019

Former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas had nothing but praise for Nigerian starlet Bukayo Saka ahead of Sunday's derby between the Gunners and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London.

The Hale End Academy product is most comfortable playing as a left winger but has been deployed at left-back, first by interim coach Freddie Ljungberg at Everton and then he still operated in the same position in Mikel Arteta's first game in charge at Bournemouth.

Considering that Saka is predominantly a winger these days, Nicholas was pleased with the versatility of the teenager.

"As much as I like what Matteo Guendouzi has, he has been poor and struggled at times, but he will come good and may come back into the fold at some point,"Nicholas wrote in his Sky Sports column.

"You see that he had to play Bukayo Saka at left-back, but he has done very well considering he is an attacker."

Looking at the defensive stats, the 18-year-old Saka racked up six tackles, three interceptions and two clearances in the two Premier League matches where he was deployed at left-back, according to data from Whoscored.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : arsenal.com