Bukayo Saka's Challenge to Regain Top Form

Bukayo Saka has spent the last five seasons living in double figures. Goals, assists, influence – the numbers stack up. He even smashed through the 20-goal barrier in 2023-24, a landmark that seemed to confirm what many already believed: Arsenal’s Hale End jewel was on the verge of joining the game’s global elite.

Then the brakes went on.

Across the last two campaigns, injuries have dragged him back. Forty games missed for club and country. A World Cup in the summer of 2026 blunted by fitness problems. While Saka has been fighting his body, a new generation of wide forwards has been lighting up the stage. Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise, Vinicius Junior – all raising the bar for modern wingers, all setting a pace that demands a response.

Saka knows he has another level. Arsenal know they need him to find it again.

Smith backs Saka to hit top gear again

Former Gunners striker Alan Smith sees no mystery in the situation. For him, the equation is simple: keep Saka fit, and the rest will follow.

“I don't think there's any reason why he shouldn't return to his best form,” Smith told GOAL, speaking in association with BestBettingSites.co.uk. “Injuries just can rob you of rhythm and confidence. But if he gets a good period clear of injury now and he can have a good run of games, you'd expect him to come back up to the levels that he was at. No reason why he shouldn't.”

Rhythm. Confidence. Games. That’s the spine of Saka’s challenge. When he strings appearances together, his output tends to surge. When he’s in and out of the side, the sharpness that once terrified full-backs inevitably fades.

Arsenal’s attacking structure is built on shared responsibility rather than one ruthless finisher. That only works if the wide players hit their numbers. Saka, even below his physical peak, has continued to contribute. But the sense around the club is that he can do more – and may have to.

Goals needed as Gyokeres enters second season

Up front, Viktor Gyokeres is heading into his second year at Emirates Stadium. The Swedish forward hit 21 goals in all competitions last term, a solid return that answered some early doubts but didn’t quite silence them.

Smith admits he wondered how Gyokeres’ summer might play out and still isn’t ruling out movement, yet he recognises the significance of that debut haul.

“Gyokeres, I wondered what was going to happen with him this summer. Something still might happen, but it's his second season and he got into the 20s for goals in the first, all in. So that's no mean feat. Maybe he'll step up,” Smith said.

“I don't think he's going to become a different footballer, a more sophisticated footballer. He is what he is. But maybe his team-mates know a bit more about him now and can service him better. So yeah, keep our eye on that one. But we obviously need a functioning goal scoring centre-forward.”

That last line is the crux. Arsenal need a centre-forward who scores regularly, but they also need Saka’s numbers to climb. Smith is clear: the England international’s output from the right is critical.

“It is so important that Saka can add more goals to the side. Certainly, as well as playing well and creating goals, which he's very good at,” he stressed.

For Mikel Arteta, the picture is obvious. If Gyokeres repeats or slightly improves his tally, and Saka rediscovers his 20-goal touch, Arsenal’s attack suddenly looks far more imposing without a marquee No. 9 signing.

Transfer noise around Alvarez and Barcola

That doesn’t mean the recruitment department has gone quiet. Arsenal have been heavily linked with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, now at Atletico Madrid after leaving Manchester City. For now, though, talk has stayed just that. No agreement, no breakthrough, no new centre-forward walking through the door.

Out wide, the rumours swirl just as fiercely. There has been speculation over a move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, with Arsenal’s name also thrown into the same conversation that briefly and surprisingly linked Real Madrid superstar Vinicius to north London.

Should Barcola arrive, Saka could find himself sharing the goal-scoring burden from the flanks with another dynamic wide threat. It would change the angles of Arsenal’s attack, shift defensive attention, and perhaps ease some of the pressure on the No. 7 to carry so much of the creative and finishing load.

For now, though, the picture is stark. The transfer window shuts on September 1. No deal for Alvarez. No new winger confirmed. A centre-forward still finding his ceiling. And a right-sided talisman determined to prove that his rise to the top was merely paused, not derailed.

When domestic football resumes, all eyes will turn to Saka’s stride, his sharpness, his smile. Is this the season he reclaims his place among the game’s most devastating wide men – and drags Arsenal’s attack up with him?