Arsenal could unleash “unplayable” new star in 18 y/o who’s a bit like Saka

Arsenal have revelled in a pretty sensational rise under Mikel Arteta’s guidance, but after the Spaniard gleaned the 2019/20 FA Cup in his first season, just months into his reign, the only further silverware to date has come in the form of the Community Shield.

Last season, however, the Gunners mounted a stunning title charge in the Premier League and took Manchester City all the way, falling at the business end to provide Pep Guardiola’s side with the tools to jump in front.

Arteta might have spent lucratively over the past few years but he has also invested time, patience and energy into the nurturing of the youth, with Bukayo Saka the salient example of the Hale End academy’s influence.

Bukayo Saka’s career in numbers

Since making his Premier League debut during a 4-1 rout over Fulham in 2019, Saka has gone from strength to strength and is now regarded among the best in the game, with radio host Boyd Hilton saying: “one of the best players in the world right now. Unplayable.”

In total, the 30-cap England international has posted 43 goals and 46 assists from 194 appearances for the north London outfit, including 26 direct contributions from 48 matches last term as he enjoyed a stunning year with his outfit.

This season, Saka has already scored five times from 15 outings during 2023/24, also providing six assists, and if Arsenal are to secure silverware this term, it would not be a rogue shout to claim that he will be at the heart of the success.

As per FBref, the 22-year-old ranks among the top 21% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 15% for assists, the top 19% for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for touches in the attacking box and the top 8% for progressive carries and tackles per 90.

As robust as they come and one of Arsenal’s most influential attacking outlets, Saka is behind only Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland in the Premier League’s most valuable players, as per Football Transfers, and has been praised for his “ruthless” streak by England manager Gareth Southgate, now putting him in ‘world-class’ conversation.

The incremental growth over the past few years is staggering, and to think that Saka still has so much growth ahead of him is a frightening prospect for the rest of European football.

Electric on the ball, intelligent with his distribution and incisive with his finishing, the generational talent has the potential to be one of the best footballers in the game in a few years, having already established himself as one of the game’s most talented members.

He’s Arsenal’s own, the Gunners’ affectionately nicknamed ‘starboy’, and he might be the greatest homegrown talent of his generation, but, that being said, Arteta might soon welcome a new talent of a similar ilk to the fold in Amario Cozier-Duberry.

Amario Cozier-Duberry’s style of play

Cozier-Duberry, aged 18, is yet to make his professional debut but has been an excellent member of Arsenal’s youth contingent and has scored 22 goals and supplied 15 assists from 70 displays, praised for his performances by Jack Wilshere, who likened him to Saka.

Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him,” Wilshere said. “He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.

“In some moments he’s unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you’ve got individuals like that you’ve got a chance.”

He’s certainly knocking on the door, with the right winger having plundered five goals and two assists from seven matches in the Premier League 2 this season, seemingly tailor-made to rival Saka as a precocious understudy.

Amario Cozier-Duberry’s stats at academy level

In fact, his prolific numbers even surpass senior captain Martin Odegaard’s this year, with the Norwegian midfielder scoring five goals and providing one assist across all competitions; while circumstances differ, it’s a further illustration of Cozier-Duberry’s potential.

Odegaard, aged 24, has been a talismanic emblem for Arsenal in their ascendancy over the past several years, since joining from Real Madrid on an initial £30m deal in 2021 after impressing on loan, and while he prefers to find the back of the net himself, could prove to be a creative engine to charge Cozier-Duberry’s exploits within the first-team.

This is because the maestro ranks among the top 5% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 19% for assists and the top 14% for progressive passes per 90.

Cozier-Duberry would have the buffer of walking into a team of far greater cohesion and quality than when Saka made his breakthrough, and while this could be viewed from both perspectives, it will objectively mean that the teenager will have to maintain an impressive level of performance to stay afloat.

That being said, he’s clearly held in high regard and, as per Fabrizio Romano, is currently at the centre of discussions to pen a new, long-term contract amid growing attention from Premier League and European suitors.

There have been countless cases of talented teenagers receiving acclaim for their impressive displays at youth level, only to succumb to the pressures and rigours of the professional game, but while Cozier-Duberry is yet to make his senior debut, with apt nurturing he could be an absolute force in the future.

With a first-class attacking crop ahead of him in the pecking order, Cozier-Duberry could prosper from a regular role in the senior set-up, absorbing the fruits of phenoms such as Saka, building toward an opportunity to strut his stuff.