Pundit says one player is as important to Arsenal as Mohamed Salah is to Liverpool

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Steve Nicol believes Arsenal have a player who is as important for them as Mohamed Salah is for Liverpool, following the Gunners’ emphatic victory over Burnley on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s men responded brilliantly to the challenge laid down by the Reds a couple of hours earlier. Arsenal, once again, closed the gap to just two points as they won 5-0 at Turf Moor.

It was Martin Odegaard who opened the scoring in the opening minutes against the Clarets. Bukayo Saka scored either side of the break, before Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz put the icing on the cake.

Bukayo Saka as important to Arsenal as Mohamed Salah is to Liverpool

Odegaard has one goal and three assists in the last two games for the Gunners. And that led to Steve Nicol being asked on ESPN whether the Norwegian is the key man for Arsenal.

Nicol however, believes that one of his teammates is even more crucial to the Gunners than their captain.

“No, I think honestly if you were to take Odegaard out of Arsenal, they would still win. If you were to take Martinelli out, they’d still win. I think if you take most players out, they’d still win. Saka, for me, is the key for Arsenal. I think if you take him out of that starting XI, I think the opposition looks at this team a little differently,” he said.

“So, as good as Odegaard was today and has been recently, I think Saka really is the key for Arsenal and their quest to win the title. He’s as important to Arsenal as Mo Salah is to Liverpool, let me put it that way.”

Doubters silenced with recent form

Bukayo Saka’s record this season is remarkable. For much of the campaign, it appeared that Saka was in need of a rest. Rio Ferdinand meanwhile, made headlines this week by suggesting that Saka is not yet world-class. But he has silenced his doubters in emphatic fashion over the last few weeks.

The 22-year-old has now scored six goals in his last four appearances for Arsenal. And his record for the season stands at 12 goals and seven assists.

Only three players in the Premier League have been directly involved in more goals. So it is hardly surprising that Nicol believes that Saka is even more important than Odegaard to the Gunners.

But given that Arsenal have now scored 11 goals across the last two games, it seems fair to say that there is so much more for opponents to worry about than the performances of Saka.