The two England internationals have become spearheads at their respective clubs and are among the best players in the country
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For most of the 2020s, Bukayo Saka has been London's most popular player. His standing as the homegrown hero at the capital's most-supported club, combined with an inoffensiveness and lack of boastful arrogance to the neutral, has made him an attraction as notable as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, an icon on his way to red bus and red phone box immortality. He is Arsenal's best player in the Emirates Stadium era.
But into the picture has come Cole Palmer, an out-of-town Mancunian making himself a home at Chelsea. The 22-year-old's unassuming charisma and number-running has served as catnip to the football world, particularly down in the Big Smoke. He is the early-season favourite to take various Player of the Year awards.
Saka and Palmer bring similar skillsets to the table, and right now are doing much of the heavy lifting to carry the hopes of their respective teams this season. The Gunners' regression has seen the already overworked Saka take on more of the creative and scoring burden, while Palmer is quite clearly the Blues' best shot of achieving anything of note in the BlueCo era.
Sunday's showdown at Stamford Bridge represents the perfect opportunity for Palmer to snatch the capital crown from Saka and kick-start Chelsea's new era, all the while tearing down the flailing hopes of Arsenal.
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportMesmeric breakout
As is so often the case, criticism of Palmer for how many goals he scored from the penalty spot turned out to be completely disingenuous. During his ascent in 2023-24, he was quite obviously Chelsea's best player nine times out of 10 regardless and irrespective of his contributions from 12 yards.
Those spot-kicks did help as the amplifier of his impact into the wider football lexicon, however, and provide him the attention which his ability deserved. It's hard to ignore someone with more than 10 Premier League goals in their first season as a starter, but impossible if they reach 22.
Palmer was the go-to option for Chelsea within weeks of his arrival at the back-end of the summer 2023 transfer window, the latest success off the Mauricio Pochettino conveyor belt of young talent. The club's week-to-week soap opera didn't faze Palmer, who kept cool and cold while delivering the goods when his team needed him most. Had the season gone on for another fortnight or he had signed at the start of the window, Chelsea may well have done enough to leapfrog Aston Villa and Tottenham into the final Champions League spot.
Pochettino's foundations have been improved upon by Enzo Maresca and the many bodies of the recruitment team have found more quality in the market, allowing Palmer the support he needs to maintain his level and act as the leader by example to those around him.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportChanging of the guard?
There is an excitement to the narrative around Palmer that no doubt helps him in debates against Saka. For example, he was named as England's Men's Player of the Year for 2024, despite making only a handful of starts when his positional rival was a near ever-present and contributed more to the team's success.
Palmer also has the flashier showreel to boast of – his first-half, four-goal haul against Brighton and worldie pass to set up a goal against Newcastle were enough to bring any grown adult to their knees in worship – and is more of a throwback 'moments' player, one that provides the aesthetics of a streets-won't-forget hero and the reliable contributions of a genuine superstar. Saka, though capable of the sublime and the stunning, is more involved in what his team does and doesn't get silenced out of some matchups the way the ganglier and less authoritative Palmer can be.
The Arsenal man doesn't quite have the same tip-toed bounce or on-the-spot jink either, not since he's been needed to knit together the Gunners' attack almost singlehandedly. The work Saka gets through is relenting and isn't as glitzy or glamorous. Losing out in the aesthetics department doesn't make you any worse of a player, though.
How the stats compare
The stats – at club level only from the start of the 2023-24 season, via – largely back up the eye test in the cases of Saka and Palmer. The Arsenal winger is more of a direct threat, with his Chelsea counterpart statistically bringing others into the game more often.
All the while, the physical toll on Saka is also glaringly noticeable, given he's played over 1,000 minutes more than Palmer yet travels further with the ball at his feet despite his added defensive load.
Bukayo SakaCole PalmerMatches played (starts, minutes)78 (74, 6,197)69 (55, 5,095)Goals (non-penalty goals)29 (23)36 (25)Assists2321Goals & assists per 90 minutes (minus penalties)0.76 (0.67)1.01 (0.81)Shot-creating actions (per 90 minutes)305 (5.40)218 (5.49)Take-ons (per 90 minutes)230 (3.34)146 (2.58)Successful take-ons (per 90 minutes)92 (1.34)66 (1.17)Progressive carries (per 90 minutes)267 (3.88)156 (2.76)Progressive passes (per 90 minutes)213 (3.09)270 (4.77)Tackles (per 90 minutes)108 (1.57)33 (0.58)Blocks (per 90 minutes)74 (1.07)25 (0.44)
In total, there isn't a lot to split them. You can make the case for either, which is precisely why Sunday's showdown will go some way to determining London's royalty.
Getty Images SportDealing with pressure
The higher your aspirations, the more intense the pressure. That's just the world of sport, and it's the world Saka has been living in since Arsenal shed the skin of their previous under-achieving selves and cemented their status as genuine adversaries to Manchester City.
But the burden on the winger's shoulders still weighs that much heavier. He is one of the Gunners' own, the one who's been there right from the start of life after Arsene Wenger. He is the new hope leading the chase for the MacGuffin of a trophy.
Saka has already played a staggering 239 times for Arsenal by the age of just 23. Mikel Arteta so hugely depends on him not only because of his ludicrous tangible output, but the work he puts in going the other way as well. He has the energy – if only just about – to dig in his heels off the ball and withstand double and triple-teams on it.
