The time when Bukayo Saka was just another rising, promising star is long gone since the 21-year-old has collected as many as 125 appearances for the Gunners and another 26 for the Three Lions.The last one, against Ukraine on Sunday, when he netted in a 2-0 victory at Wembley, received a whole bag of praise and approval. One of those with many kind words for the Arsenal forward was ex-Gunner, too, Paul Merson, concluding, ‘Saka is a big moment player ‘.Bukayo Saka vs. Ukraine: 90 minutes played56 touches3 shots1 shot on target1 goal30 passes (76.9% accuracy)3 key passes2 big chances created1 assist 10 ground duels (8 won)4 fouls wonPlayer of the match.🌟 pic.twitter.com/91wuv4XP1C— Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) March 26, 2023 “He’s not the player that gets a hattrick against a side bottom of the league, or he’s not grabbing the seventh goal in a 7-0 win. At Arsenal, he’s getting the first goal, the equaliser or the winner. He’s getting assists at crucial moments.”He’s a big occasion player and there are not a lot of them around.”There are players that will do a lot of things in games, but they won’t be in the most important part of the game. Saka does do that, however, on a weekly basis,” explained Merson for Sky Sports, pointing out Saka has been turning it on for Arsenal all season with the goals and assists.##NAJAVA_MECA_7125113####EDITORS_CHOICE##Merson thinks Saka has improved immensely, especially considering his ‘end product’.”He’s got a great calmness about him. He’s only 21, and there’s plenty more to come from him. He won’t play his best football until he’s 26, 27 or 28.Saka likes Arsenal but still wants a release clause in his new contract”The problem he will find is because of the position he plays, so he will find things harder at some stage. As he becomes more well-known, teams will put him on the radar a lot more. Teams will look to stop the ball from getting to him and they will also double up on him very quickly. He will have to change his game again to combat that, but he has the temperament to handle that.”But he just loves football. All he wants is to play football and he plays the game with a smile on his face. He has all the ingredients to go as far as he wants in the game, ” concluded Merson.
