Scintillating Saka becomes third-youngest player to reach 100 PL wins

Arsenal’s hopes of finally overthrowing Manchester City as the champions of England couldn’t have begun any brighter after a promising start to the new season has seen the Gunners emerge from their opening two matches with maximum points obtained and no goals conceded. 

The north Londoners have recorded back-to-back 2-0 victories against Wolves and Aston Villa, and currently sit third in the division behind Brighton and *checks notes* Manchester City. Of course. 

Two wins and two clean sheets from their first two games is an extremely positive feat, and whilst most would have expected them to beat Wolves in last weekend’s opener at the Emirates, travelling to Villa Park on Saturday brought with it plenty of jeopardy. 

Mikel Arteta’s side slumped to a 2-0 defeat against the Villans – managed by former Arsenal boss Unai Emery – towards the end of last season, in a match that proved to be a defining moment in the title race. Had they have won that game, Arsenal would have beaten City to the title by a single point, but an unusual off day saw Villa upset the applecart at the Emirates and ultimately derailed their campaign altogether. 

So it seems befitting that, just four months on, the Gunners flipped the scoreboard and came away from the West Midlands with a 2-0 victory as they took on the second bend of their 2024/25 marathon. Arsenal dominated possession, enjoying an impressive 61% share of the ball throughout the 90 minutes and completed 185 more passes than their counterparts (514 vs 329).

They weathered the Villa storm excellently and did not concede any of the 11 shots Emery’s men took at David Raya’s goal, with a strike from super sub Leandro Trossard – on for just two minutes before changing the game – breaking the deadlock after a goalless 67 minutes, before midfielder Thomas Partey then doubled the visitors lead 10 minutes later. 

Despite not scoring, it was the brilliance of Bukayo Saka which assisted such a well-rounded win under challenging circumstances. The England international is consistently the brightest beacon shining loudly in a fluorescent Arsenal team and this weekend his contribution to proceedings was as pivotal as ever. 

The 22-year-old provided the assist for Partey’s second goal; won four free-kicks; completed three successful tackles; executed three successful crosses and finished the game with a 96% pass-success rate. Saka’s assist on Saturday was his second in as many games this term, and his 72nd for Arsenal in all competitions since he made his senior debut in November 2018. 

What is most impressive, though, is that Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa on Saturday was Saka’s 100th Premier League victory for the Gunners and he is still just 22 years of age. The victory makes Saka the third-youngest player in PL history to reach the 100-win milestone, behind only Wayne Rooney (22 years, 87 days) and Cesc Fabregas (22 years, 180 days). 

Among the (ridiculously impressive) list of players Saka has beaten to this particular version of the ‘100 Club’ is Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs. It is yet another exceptional statistic which further reaffirms his importance to Arsenal and the overwhelming talent Saka possesses at the very highest level.

Image: theanalyst.com

With such a long career in front of him, Saka stands every chance of beating Giggs’ record of all-time Premier League victories should he remain playing in the division. The Manchester United legend recorded 407 wins during his 24-year tenure at Old Trafford, with his final three points obtained at the grand old age of 40.

Two games into the season is not a marker for the success Arsenal can potentially achieve this time out. There is still an extremely long way to go and the immediate challenge which lies ahead of them in the shape of games against Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester City will have a much more definitive bearing on their overall campaign and chances for the title. It has been a faultless start from the north Londoners, however, and scintillating Saka – so often their talismanic force – continues to dazzle.