Thierry Henry Expresses Astonishment at Bukayo Saka’s Current Performance Level

Former Arsenal star Thierry Henry has declared Bukayo Saka his “favourite player” following the winger’s standout performance in Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 victory against Monaco. Despite having coached Saka during his time at the club’s academy, Henry admitted he had not anticipated the 23-year-old would achieve his current level of skill. Saka’s European debut occurred in 2018, when he was 17 years old, playing in the Europa League. Since then, he has accumulated seven goals and four assists across seven Champions League matches held at the Emirates Stadium. Henry stated, “He’s my favourite player. He’s been there for so long and he’s so nice. I never thought he would reach the levels we are seeing.” He is now a regular starter for both Arsenal and the England national team. Henry recalled Saka initially playing as a wing-back, noting that “the evolution of his game is outstanding because he used to be so lively, to now scoring goals and assists.” Commencing from the beginning of last season, Bukayo Saka has been involved in 8 goals and six assists in the Champions League, a total surpassed only by Harry Kane (18), Vinicius Jr (16), and Antoine Griezmann (13). Within the identical timeframe, he has achieved the feat of both scoring and assisting in a single Champions League fixture five times, which is more than any other player. For the current season, Mohamed Salah stands as the sole Premier League player with a higher number of goal involvements (28) across all competitions compared to Saka (21).