Arsenal: Bukayo Saka give-and-take what Alex Iwobi never had

Bukayo Saka had his fate in his hands at Arsenal, but he’s fallen down the pecking order a little. This is exactly what he needs, and what others needed.

Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka looked to be on a red carpet into first team invincibility. Alexandre Lacazette‘s injury opened up the door and Saka quickly established himself as the preferred option over even Nicolas Pepe. We all saw it.

For being a teenager, he played with such determination and precision that the rawness to his game wasn’t much of a drawback. I still think I’m most impressed by his shooting, even though he hasn’t notched that first Premier League goal yet.

But now, Saka has fallen down the pecking order a bit. Not because Unai Emery is blindly sticking to Nicolas Pepe, but because Gabriel Martinelli is moving up. That’s easy to accomplish when you score seven goals in four matches.

Against Wolverhampton, Unai Emery said a lot with his choice of substitutions. First was Gabriel Martinelli. Second was Bukayo Saka. Pepe wasn’t even called on.

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But this is a fluid pecking order. Each of those three has been first choice at some point this season, and each of the three has been last. It’s been a give and take based on the hot hand and based on… Unai Emery’s continued experimentation.

This is exactly the kind of thing that Bukayo Saka needs to continue his development. He’s been tremendous, yes, but he’s had bouts of inconsistency as well. And in the process of maturing, these moments of struggle that amount to losing a starting spot, or seeing Martinelli or Pepe called on in front of him will encourage continued improvement.

It’s something Alex Iwobi really didn’t have. Arsene Wenger left Iwobi in the starting XI no matter what. He was rarely given time to sit back and learn. There was no one challenging him and even if there was, Wenger would always give top priority to Iwobi. Maybe it was a belief that Iwobi was ready, or maybe it was just a lack of other options.

But whatever the case. We have nothing to worry about, because Saka is getting the treatment he needs to move forward with his career.

In a world where Unai Emery is struggling to establish much of anything, at least he’s making smart decisions with Saka and Martinelli, letting them learn in the way that they should.