Bacary Sagna snubs Manchester City's Erling Haaland and claims Arsenal star has been the best player in the PL this season
Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna believes Bukayo Saka has been the Premier League's best player this season. Sagna feels Saka's impact has eclipsed that of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who has scored for fun in the ongoing campaign.
Haaland joined the Citizens from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The Norwegian leads the Premier League's goalscoring charts with 28 goals in 26 matches.
Saka, meanwhile, has been key in guiding Arsenal to a five-point lead over City at the top of the Premier League table. The Englishman has scored 10 goals and laid out nine assists in 27 league matches this term and is the second-best creator behind Kevin De Bruyne.
Sagna indicated that Haaland might still win the PFA Player of the Year award come the end of the season. However, the Frenchman believes Saka has been the better player. He told gaming news website The Games Cabin:
"He’s [Saka] been the best player in the Premier League this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Erling Haaland is crowned PFA Player of the Year but up until now, I don’t see any other player that’s had a bigger impact on their team than Bukayo.
"To have that consistency, game after game has been absolutely fantastic."
Haaland's impact for Manchester City has gone beyond the Premier League. Following his five-goal showing against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League this week, he is up to a staggering 39 goals in 30 matches across competitions.
Saka, however, has not delivered many goal contributions for Arsenal outside of the Premier League. In nine matches across the UEFA Europa League and FA Cup, he has scored just once and laid out zero assists in 495 minutes of action.
Bukayo Saka will look to guide Arsenal to a couple of wins before the international break
Bukayo Saka and Arsenal will be in action on Thursday, March 16, in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 match-up against Sporting CP. The tie is currently hanging in the balance after the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in Portugal last week.
Following that game, the Gunners will take on Crystal Palace at the Emirates in the Premier League on Sunday, March 19. Victory in that match will take Mikel Arteta's side eight points clear at the top of the standings, having played a game more.
Erling Haaland and Manchester City will notably be involved in the FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend, where they will take on Burnley.
The players will then go into the international break, with Arsenal returning to action on April 1 with a league clash against Leeds United.