England duo Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is not world-class - I think Chelsea ace Cole Palmer is better

A former Premier League midfielder does not believe Arsenal hero Saka can be classed within the 'world class' bracket, but Palmer can.

05 Oct 2024, 10:29 by Isaac Johnson · football.london

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara has refuted the suggestion that Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka is world-class and believes Cole Palmer is playing at a higher level than his England teammate.

Both players have won PFA Young Player of the Year in consecutive years, Saka being bestowed the title last year before Palmer. The pair are now England regulars, with Saka starting two European Championship finals and Palmer scoring in this summer’s continental showpiece.

Palmer has enjoyed a rapid rise in form since leaving Manchester City last year, with 28 goals and 15 assists in just 39 Premier League games for Chelsea. In the same time period, Saka has recorded 16 goals and 14 assists in 41 top-flight matches.

Neither player got into the PFA Team of the Year for the 2023/24 season. Both played in contrasting teams last term as Arsenal lost out on the title by two points while Chelsea managed to steal sixth place after a late run under Mauricio Pochettino.

Both suffered final heartbreak at Euro 2024, as they saw opposing talent Lamine Yamal clutch the trophy for Spain. He won the Young Player of the Tournament award after a competition best of four assists as well as a goal.

The 17-year-old Barcelona talent has already recorded five goals and assists apiece in the first 10 club games of the season. The quality he possesses is also better than that of Saka, according to O’Hara.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sports, the ex-Spurs star mooted: “Bukayo Saka isn’t world-class. He’s a great player in a very good team, but I look at guys like Cole Palmer and Lamine Yamal, who in my opinion are world-class players. They are a level about Saka - it’s as simple as that.

“Yamal looks set to be the star man at Barcelona for the coming years and you know they’ll win trophies with him; so I’d have him over Saka for starters. Palmer also looks like the best player in the Premier League, which means you can argue that he is the best player in the world.

“I might be getting carried away there, but Palmer looks like he can do anything on a football pitch, nothing fazes him at all. As I said, Saka is a great player, but Palmer is on another level.”

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