Bukayo Saka’s evolution into creative juggernaut makes him first Dream Team midfielder to reach 100 points this season

BUKAYO SAKA (£6.5m) has been a top-tier Dream Team asset for a few years now.

But even by the Arsenal winger’s sky-high standards, he’s gone off like a rocket this season.

The 23-year-old is one of just three players to have reached the 100-point mark by the end of Gameweek 7, alongside Erling Haaland (£9.1m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.6m).

Saka leads the way among midfielders and is now 15 points clear of the next-best player in his position, Cole Palmer (£6.5m).

MOST DREAM TEAM POINTS SO FAR THIS SEASON:

• Erling Haaland – 111 pts
• Bukayo Saka – 102 pts
• Mohamed Salah – 100 pts
• Cole Palmer – 87 pts
• Kai Havertz – 76 pts
• Eberechi Eze – 75 pts
• Brennan Johnson – 74 pts
• Dwight McNeil – 73 pts
• Trent Alexander-Arnold – 72 pts
• Bryan Mbeumo – 72 pts

What’s interesting is that out of the top ten performers (see above), only defender Alexander-Arnold has scored fewer goals than Saka at this stage.

The reason the Gunners’ homegrown hero has excelled to this point is his evolution into a creative juggernaut.

Saka assisted his side’s first two goals against Southampton on Saturday and bagged one of his own to seal the win just before full time.

As a result, he’s now registered eight assists in all competitions this season, which puts him in a league of his own – Palmer and Salah are his closest rivals on five each.

All football fans know that not all assists are equal in terms of their actual contribution to the goal being scored but Saka is thoroughly deserving of his tally because he’s also created the most big chances (as defined by Opta) for his team-mates with 12.

Again, Palmer is his nearest competitor in the metric but Chelsea’s main man is four behind as it stands on eight.

The stats paint a clear picture of Saka in a class of his own when it comes to playmaking.

Arsenal’s set-piece supremacy is a huge factor in this as it’s generally the England international who swings in the corners and wide free-kicks for Gabriel (£5.6m) and company to attack with extreme purpose.

But it would be a mistake to pigeonhole Saka as Saturday’s showing proved he’s just as capable of unlocking defences in open play – his throughball for Havertz and deep cross for Gabriel Martinelli (£3.9m) were unquestionably decisive actions.

Saka may be the league’s leading playmaker at present but even that doesn’t tell the full story.

He’s scored three goals and registered a whopping 14 shots on target, a tally only bettered by Haaland and Salah.

Furthermore, he ranks inside the top 15 midfielders for bonus points and the top 20 for tackles – he does it all!

The international break means there’s plenty of time for Dream Team managers to form their strategy for Gameweek 8 and beyond but at this early stage it’s notable that Saka is the second-most popular recruit ahead of the deadline.

His ownership has increased to 42.6%, making him the third-most selected player in the game – Haaland and Palmer are one and two respectively.

Saka’s current price of £6.5m makes him the joint-third most-expensive asset at the time of writing but gaffers should expect another bump after his 20-point haul in Gameweek 7.

Mikel Arteta’s side have some tricky fixtures after the break with Liverpool, Newcastle, Inter and Chelsea (among others) to come before mid-November.

That being said, Saka is among the exclusive group of players for whom the fixture list is largely irrelevant – he’s already provided returns against Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester City and PSG this season.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk