CIES Football Observatory named their most valuable players yesterday and it's fair to say a few eyebrows were raised: Phil Foden tops the list while probably the best player in the world right now - Kylian Mbappe - is only 12th.
Unsurprisingly, just 1 current Gunner made the top-20 - Bukayo Saka. So we decided to look at the algorithm CIES used for their calculations to try and understand how it works.
There are a total of 8 factors which contribute to the player's value: inflation, club-related metrics (economic and sporting level) and player-related metrics (performances, career progression, international status, age and contract situation).
We are not getting into inflation here, what interests us most are club and player metrics. So we'll briefly go over each of those to explain what's going on.
Club metrics
Sporting level
Well, not much to boast about here for Arsenal. We finished 8th in consecutive seasons and will spend the first season in ages out of Europe. It will also be our 5th consecutive season without Champions League. This could hardly have been a significant factor to influence Saka's price. Moving on.
Economic level
We were hit hard by the pandemic but look in a pretty healthy spot due to paycuts and re-financing the stadium debt. The bloated wage bill is a concern though, we need to trim it down.
Player metrics
Performances
Saka has been voted our Player of the Seasons by fans, winning by a landslide. Certainly our best player and one of the most consistent too. Had a quieter start to the season but then the entire team did.
Career progression
Saka burst onto the scene under Unai Emery in 2019. lighting it up in Europa League. Played at left-back, left wing, central midfield and now displaced our record signing in decent form from the right wing. All in just 2 years.
International status
He's made the 26-man cut for England for the upcoming Euros and has already scored his debut goal for the national team. Saka's versatility, application and talent should see him go far, even with Foden and Greenwood for competition.
Age
He's still only 19, Kanu believe it? A 19-year-old kid carrying an entire Arsenal team on his shoulders. He's already scarily good and it looks like even a change of managers can't stop him from improving further.
Contract situation
Saka's tied down for 3 further years, having just signed an extension last summer. He's pivotal to this Arsenal side and going nowhere, that's for sure. Someone will need to make a mad offer for him for the Gunners to let him go.
The verdict
We are not really surprised Bukayo is the most valuable Gunner right now. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is seemingly on the decline, ageing and had a tough season. Nicolas Pepe has improved but not enough to even cost what we paid for him. Kieran Tierney has been brilliant but it's hard to hit a €100m for a defender.
However, we'll be watching Gabi Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe closely next season. If given enough minutes, the duo has the potential to grow in price and stature rapidly. Until then, massive kudos to Saka.
