Wayne Rooney names Arsenal player who’s impressed him most this term

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Wayne Rooney has suggested that Bukayo Saka is the Arsenal player who has impressed him most this season – but admitted to being surprised that he took the penalty against West Ham.

Rooney was speaking to The Times about the Premier League title race, which took another twist on Friday night as Arsenal dropped points for the third game running, drawing with Southampton.

It was an agonising result for the Gunners fans. And it does open the door ever so slightly more for Manchester City.

Wayne Rooney lauds Bukayo Saka

It would be devastating for Arsenal to miss out on the title now. So many of their players have been outstanding throughout the campaign. And perhaps no-one has been better than Bukayo Saka.

Saka was the first player in the Premier League to reach double figures for goals and assists this season. And he scored one and set up another against the Saints on Friday.

It was a superb response from the 21-year-old who issued an apology after their previous game. Saka put his penalty wide when Arsenal had the chance to go 3-1 up against West Ham.

Rooney suggested that he was taken aback by Saka taking the spot-kick. But he insisted that that should take nothing away from how good the youngster has been during the campaign.

“Saka has impressed me most. He’s only 21 but has 13 goals and 11 assists this season. For a young player, playing out wide, that output is really good,” he told The Times.

“We saw him, Emile Smith-Rowe and a couple of others come through from Arsenal’s academy at the same time and he’s the one who has been consistently able to deal with the expectation and perform. Now he’s Arsenal’s best player.

“When he missed the penalty against West Ham I was surprised he took it in the first place — I thought it should have been Jesus — but having bounced back from missing one in the shoot-out at the Euro 2020 final, he has shown his character. I have no doubt he will recover mentally from the setback.”

Gunners will hope there is one more twist ahead

Certainly, if Arsenal keep Saka in their ranks for the next decade, it is hard to see their current wait for the title not ending at some stage.

Saka is destined for the absolute top of the game. It has recently been reported that he now has a value of £96 million. And if Arsenal can keep players such as the winger satisfied, they will obviously be in a fantastic position.

It does feel like Arsenal may now be underdogs to win the title this time around. But with players such as Saka in their ranks, there is no way you can write Mikel Arteta’s men off ensuring that there is one more twist.