TRANSFER GOSSIP: Arsenal eye Saka & Foden hybrid who's "one of the best players in the world" and would take the club to it's next level

Arsenal may have ended the season empty-handed this year, but the North Londoners pushed Manchester City all the way in the Premier League, only officially losing out on the final day.
There are a few similarities between the two sides. Their managers have worked together, they play a stylistically similar brand of football, and both teams are lucky enough to field a superstar brought up through the academy who looks set for a massive summer with England.

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.
We are, of course, talking about two of the best players in the country in Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, and based on recent reports, the Gunners could be about to sign a player who has been compared to both in the way he plays the game.

Arsenal transfer news
According to recent reports via Football 365, Arsenal are interested in Barcelona winger Raphinha ahead of the summer window, and have already seen a €40m - £34m - offer rejected.

Barcelona winger Raphinha.
The report has claimed that the Catalan club will have to sell players over the coming months and that the Brazilian has been earmarked to be sold, although they are waiting for around €60m - £51m.

Alongside the Gunners, Liverpool, Al Nassr, and Chelsea have been named as interested parties, although it would appear that the two London clubs are the best positioned to secure the winger's signature.

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Even at the increased asking price, this looks like it could be an excellent chance for Mikel Arteta to sign a ready-made backup to Saka; the fact he's been compared to the Hale End star and Foden is just the icing on the cake.

Raphinha's comparisons to Saka and Foden
So, comparing a winger to two of the brightest young stars in English football at the moment is certainly bold, especially when one of them has produced 39 goals and assists in 53 games for the league champions, and the other has racked up 20 goals and 14 assists in 47 games for the runners-

However, this comparison is less about raw output and more about their underlying numbers, and it comes from FBref, which looks at players in a specific position across Europe's top five leagues and draws a top ten of the most similar players based on their statistics.

According to this, Saka is the most similar winger to the "dangerous" Brazilian, as dubbed by former manager Xavi, while Foden comes in as number five. These similarities can be seen best in individual underlying statistics, such as their non-penalty expected goal figures, number of shot-creating actions, successful take-ons, clearances, ball recoveries, and more per 90.

Raphinha compared to Saka & Foden

Stats per 90

Raphinha

Saka

Foden

Non-Penalty Expected Goals

0.43

0.33

0.33

Expected Assists

0.38

0.32

0.26

Goals

0.39

0.49

0.60

Progressive Passes

3.75

3.89

5.30

Goal-Creating Actions

0.86

0.65

0.66

Successful Take-Ons

1.58

1.51

1.48

Clearances

0.72

0.74

0.57

Shots

3.82

3.15

3.31

Touches in the Defensive Third

5.26

5.62

5.49

Ball Recoveries

4.87

4.78

4.01

This just demonstrates that while Arteta wouldn't be getting a player perhaps on the same level as the two Englishmen, he'd be getting one capable of filling in when needed and maybe even fighting for a spot in the team should the Arsenal star's form dip, as shown by his 15 goals and assists in 28 La Liga games this season.

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Ultimately, with the Ealing-born superstar having already made 226 first-team appearances for the North Londoners at just 22 years old, it's imperative that Edu and Co bring in a talented right-winger who could lighten the load, and Raphinha, or "one of the best players in the world", as Xavi once described him, looks like he could be the perfect fit for that.

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