Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Cole Palmer of Chelsea are two of the top English scorers in the Premier League so far this season. Interestingly, both of them will be up against each other today. Let us look at how they compare with each other ahead of the game based on data obtained from Squawks.
Comparison of Saka and Palmer
Considering the number of goal scored, Cole Palmer has netted 20 times in the English top flight this season. This makes him the joint highest goal scorer so far this term. In contrast, Saka has only registered 14 Premiership goals for Arsenal within the same period. Meanwhile, 9 of Palmer’s strikes have come from penalties while Saka has only scored 5 times from the spot this season. Thus, spot kicks account for 45% and 35% of their goals respectively.
Bukayo Saka
When we look at their contribution to team attack, Saka tends to be better. The Hale End graduate has attempted 1193 passes and completed 17 crosses in open play so far in the PL. In contrast, his Chelsea counterpart has been credited with 1074 and 4 respectively. The Arsenal guy has also created 77 chances while the Manchester-born star has taken credit for only 52.
In 1-on-1 situations, Bukayo has been better this term. He had already completed 41 take-ons ahead of the encounter. This is 2 more than the number of complete dribbles credited to Cole. Though Saka is not an exceptional player in aerial duels, he has won 23 of such contests in the Premier League this term. This contrasts with 1 for Palmer. The 158 ground duels won by the reigning community shield winner is nearly double the 82 ascribed to the reigning EPL champion.
Cole Palmer
From these stats it is obvious that Saka has been a better forward than Palmer overall.
