At the start of the season, Arsenal was heavily criticized not only for failing to qualify for any of the three European competition for the first time after 26 years, but also for the subsequent transfer window. The Gunners spent the most of any club in the Premier League, but not one of those signings was known as the ‘big name’. The jury is still out there for August transfer window, but the players who were already in the club are actually the ones who made the most of the headlines after Arsenal’s wins this season. The trio of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe are currently in top form, and it’s hard to imagine, but they can actually go head to head with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.One wealthy Gunner: Saka offered a bigger contractOver the past decade, regular comparisons between the Argentinian and the Portuguese were always interesting and fueled the ongoing debate about who’s the world’s best player. And while Saka, Martinelli and Smith Rowe have a long way to go to be even compared to the dynamic duo, they are actually already compared and they fair pretty well. The Arsenal youth academy graduates are enjoying their best season in red and white shirt, and their numbers are actually close or better than Messi’s and Ronaldo’s, when they were in their twenties.Squawka: Most Premier League goals scored by players under the age of 23 this season:◉ Emile Smith Rowe (9)◉ Bukayo Saka (9)◉ Conor Gallagher (8)◎ Phil Foden (7)◉ Jacob Ramsey (6)◎ Kai Havertz (6)◎ Armando Broja (6)Two Arsenal players a… pic.twitter.com/jvlSn0rdW7— footainment (@F00tainment) March 26, 2022 Out of those three, Saka has the best numbers so far. In 2005, Cristiano Ronaldo was the Manchester United 20-years-old star, and in the 2004/05 season, he got five goals and four assists in 33 league games. Messi was the same age in 2007, and the 2007/08 season saw him come up with a return of ten goals and 14 assists. So far, Saka is better than young Ronaldo, as he already has nine goals and five assists, but in less games (28).Anelka: Careers of Messi and Ronaldo are overGabriel Martinelli certainly has less numbers that Ronaldo and Messi, but he has played less than all of those players, only 18 times in the Premier League so far. Still, the Brazilian, a bargain signing from Ituano (6 million pounds in 2019) has five goals and three assists and will almost surely surpass Ronaldo either. Emile Smith Rowe is the oldest of all three, as he is 21 years old. As we look at the Messi and Ronaldo numbers when they were 21, the Argentinian is still ahead, but Gunners youngster is rivalling the Portuguese. Messi scored 23 goals and had 13 assists in 31 La Liga games when he had 21 years old, Ronaldo had 9 goals and 7 assists in 33 games while Smith Rowe so far racked up 9 goals and two assists in 24 games.(1.80) ENGLAND (3.45) SWITZERLAND (4.80)A bright future is ahead of Saka, Martinelli and Smith Rowe surely, but it’s still a long way to go to reach the heights of Ronaldo and Messi.
