Arsenal recently handed Bukayo Saka a bumper new contract – the problem is, he’s no longer performing like the star player his pay packet suggests he is.
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The England international is not having his best season, and it was notable how much better Arsenal looked when they subbed him off for Noni Madueke in last night’s Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
While goals and assists aren’t everything, they’re pretty important currency for the star attacker of a top club, and those numbers only seem to be going in the wrong direction for Saka.
Bukayo Saka’s G/A numbers continue to decline
See below as a quite clear pattern has emerged showing that Saka peaked with his output two years ago, with injuries clearly seeming to take a toll since then…
So far in 2025/26, Saka is on nine goals and five assists in 39 games in all competitions – a distinctly average return, and perhaps more concerning as the season goes on, with the 24-year-old on just two goals and two assists in 2026 so far.
The presence of Saka means Madueke has had limited minutes, but he’s still managed seven goals and one assist in 29 appearances, only 19 of which have been in the starting XI.
Bukayo Saka not justifying huge new Arsenal contract
According to the Guardian, Saka is now on a contract until 2031, with Arsenal set to pay him £15m a year until that time, amounting to roughly a £75m investment.
If Arsenal had agreed that kind of deal a year or two ago, no one would bat an eyelid, but at the moment it looks like the club may have walked into a major mistake.
Saka’s fitness has been patchy, and it’s starting to look like it’s having an effect with his on-pitch displays.
For someone who’s played so much football already at a relatively young age, it wouldn’t be surprising if we saw Saka suffer in much the same way as other explosive young forwards did.
Names like Michael Owen and Marcus Rashford come to mind as players who peaked far earlier than the standard 25-28 age bracket due to becoming important first-team regulars as teenagers.
Bukayo Saka needs a rest, but when will it come?
It looks like Saka just needs a rest right now after such a gruelling schedule in the last few years, with the winger playing at a high level every three days pretty much constantly.
Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta needs his star man to be ready to fight for the Premier League title, Carabao Cup final, and continued runs in the FA Cup and the Champions League.
While Madueke is showing himself to be a fine alternative, it seems unlikely that Arsenal are going to bench their highest earner any time soon, with every game at this stage of the season looking hugely important.
And after that, there’s the World Cup with England to think about, with Saka almost certain to be on the plane to North America, and likely to be in Thomas Tuchel’s first XI at the tournament.
Arsenal know they have an elite talent on their hands, hence the big pay day and the frequent minutes, but as time goes on it increasingly seems like those two things can’t go hand in hand comfortably together.
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