"English people get too excited about their players" - Pundit insists Arsenal's Bukayo Saka is not better than Kylian Mbappe or Real Madrid star
Former Chelsea defender William Gallas believes Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka is not "on the same level" as Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. Gallas' comments come ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between the Gunners and Los Blancos on Wednesday (April 16).
Despite having missed over three months due to a hamstring injury, Saka has been instrumental for the Gunners this season. With 10 and 14 assists in 28 games across competitions, the English winger is Arsenal’s second highest scorer and leads the way in the assists chart across competitions.
In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between the Gunners and Los Blancos, Saka was quite impressive as his side cruised past their Spanish counterparts 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Meanwhile, Mbappe and Vinicius had a quiet outing.
Despite the Gunners’ impressive performance in the first leg, Gallas reminded everyone that Saka’s footballing abilities and achievements pale in comparison to those of Mbappe and Vinicius.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal defender told Slingo in an exclusive interview:
"Bukayo Saka had a great performance after his long injury, but I don't think he's on the same level of Vinicius Jr or Kylian Mbappe yet. He does have the potential to do it. English people get too excited about their players, but sometimes you need to calm down, don't put too much pressure on the players like Saka. He has to be a champion and win trophies to be on the same level as Vinicius Jr and Mbappe, who have won the Champions League and World Cup.”
He added:
"When Vinicius Jr is in his best form, he's unstoppable. You can't compare him to Bukayo Saka. Everyone looks into statistics, why don't we compare their trophies? Vinicius probably deserved the Ballon d'Or at his best, Saka was ranked 21st, come on. I need to see Saka performing the way he is for a whole season, keeping that same level and he definitely has the potential to do it."
"It will be massive" – William Gallas predicts the outcome of Real Madrid vs Arsenal Champions League clash
In the same interview, Gallas predicted the outcome of the second leg of the UCL quarterfinal between Real Madrid and Arsenal. The former French international didn’t predict a particular scoreline but offered a mixture of praise, concern, and caution for the upcoming iconic showdown at Santiago Bernabeu.
"The words 'big game' are too underwhelming for Real Madrid vs Arsenal, it will be massive,’’ Gallas said.
While the Gunners have a three-goal advantage going into the second leg, Gallas isn’t convinced that his former side will definitely qualify, as he expressed disappointment about their inconsistency.
"Arsenal don't have a choice but to perform at the same level as last week, I'm very happy for the club, the players and the fans. The result was amazing. But, I'm a little bit disappointed with Arsenal. After that performance against Real Madrid, a world-class performance, they drew 1-1 to Brentford."
“The players have shown they can perform to an incredible level but it's clear that they have given up in the Premier League, the players haven't shown the potential of these performances all season. With Arsenal, you never know what they can do, they're not consistent enough. They have to qualify since they're 3-0 up, there's no debate. The Bernabeu does produce a different atmosphere to most stadiums though. If anyone can turn around a 3-0 loss, it is Real Madrid,” he added.
The last time the two sides faced off in Europe was in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Champions League. The Gunners secured a 1-0 win on aggregate, thanks to a Thierry Henry goal.