Bukayo Saka’s season continues to go from strength to strength with the Arsenal winger having been in sensational form for the Premier League leaders.
Saka has evolved into one of the Premier League’s most effective attackers in recent seasons and is the first player in the division to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in 2022/23.
The 21-year-old has become just the eighth Arsenal player to have achieved the feat in a Premier League campaign and the youngest to have done so for the Gunners.
Here is every Arsenal player to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a Premier League season.
Dennis Bergkamp (1997/98)
Dennis Bergkamp was the first player to achieve the feat in an Arsenal shirt, during a 1997/98 campaign that saw the forward explode as a Premier League player.
Bergkamp was signed in a club record £7.5m deal from Inter Milan under Bruce Rioch, but it was the arrival of Arsene Wenger which helped bring the best from the Dutchman. Wenger’s first full season as manager saw Bergkamp star, as he proved the inspiration behind Arsenal’s title success.
Bergkamp at his best against the Foxes ???? #LEIARS | @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/aVENuc9iNe
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 24, 2023
He scored 16 league goals and laid on a further 11 assists for the Gunners, who swept to a domestic double. Bergkamp’s performances – which included that iconic hat-trick against Leicester – saw him named as the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.
It was arguably the defining season of Bergkamp’s career with the club, as the creative genius of the Dutchman kick-started the success of the Wenger era.
Golazo Merchants: Arsenal’s non-flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp (1998/99)
Bergkamp repeated the achievement the following season, with 12 goals and 13 assists during the 1998/99 campaign.
Arsenal were unable to defend the Premier League and FA Cup as Manchester United claimed a historic treble, but Bergkamp was again brilliant as the creative hub of the Gunners’ side.
The Dutchman’s 13 assists were a league-leading total, level with Leeds’ Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Thierry Henry (2002/03)
Thierry Henry produced one of the greatest individual seasons in Premier League history during the 2002/03 campaign.
Henry had emerged as the finest footballer in the division since signing for Arsenal, with the forward claiming the Premier League’s Golden Boot as the Gunners won a Premier League and FA Cup double in 2001/02.
The following campaign saw Henry elevate his game once again, as he produced a staggering return that saw the Frenchman involved in 44 goals throughout the campaign.
2️⃣4️⃣ #PL goals
2️⃣0️⃣ #PL assistsOnly ONE person has scored and assisted 20+ goals in a #PL season – @Arsenal's @ThierryHenry… pic.twitter.com/6LCT2CI4ud
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 1, 2017
Arsenal ended the season as runners-up to Manchester United, but this was the season that confirmed Henry among the world’s best. He ended the year in second place for both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award.
No player has ever been involved in more Premier League goals across a 38-game season, while Henry’s 20 assists remain a record for a single campaign since matched by only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (2019/20).
Remembering Thierry Henry’s incredible season in 2002/03
Thierry Henry (2004/05)
Henry reached double figures on each metric for a second time in 2004/05, as he scored 25 goals and created 14 more for Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger’s side had been crowned Premier League champions in unbeaten fashion the previous season with Henry again named as the league’s finest footballer, but the Gunners relinquished their crown after an emerging Chelsea claimed the title.
Despite missing out on the Premier League it was another fine individual season for the Frenchman, whose 25 goals earned Henry a third Premier League Golden Boot in just four seasons. He also ended the season named as the FWA Footballer of the Year for a third time, as Arsenal won the FA Cup.
Robin van Persie (2008/09)
Robin van Persie’s evolution into world-class talent was beginning to take shape in 2008/09, as the forward scored 20 goals in all competitions for the first time in his career.
Van Persie was the leading scorer for an inexperienced Arsenal side, with Arsene Wenger placing his faith in youth as he looked to rebuild following the club’s ‘Invincibles’ era.
Van Persie’s 11 league goals were the joint-best return of his career at that stage, while he was one of just two players – alongside Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard – to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in the Premier League that season.
Cesc Fabregas (2009/10)
Cesc Fabregas announced his arrival as one of Europe’s best midfielders in 2009/10, as the Spanish schemer revelled in the responsibility of the captain’s armband at Arsenal.
Fabregas’ first full season as captain was a memorable one in north London as he produced a superb individual campaign to earn inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year. The midfielder was outstanding as the creative force of Arsenal’s free-flowing side and produced extraordinary numbers from midfield.
"One of the great solo goals in #PL history!"#GoalOfTheDay belongs to @cesc4official ✨ pic.twitter.com/UYM5KUJ9M7
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 13, 2020
In 27 league appearances, he scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists, including five goal contributions in one game – one goal and FOUR assists – in a 6-2 thrashing of Blackburn at the Emirates. He also scored a sensational individual goal against Tottenham in a season that saw him thrive as the heartbeat of Arsene Wenger’s side.
Santi Cazorla (2012/13)
Santi Cazorla added a sprinkling of stardust to the Arsenal side during an exceptional debut season in north London in 2012/13.
Cazorla arrived to restore the creative impetus lost following the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie in recent transfer windows and succeeded in bringing invention to Arsenal.
He became the first player since Thierry Henry in 1999/2000 to reach ten league goals in his debut season and ranked third in the Premier League for chances created.
"Santi Cazorla, that is stunning!"#GoalOfTheDay @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/Jo5c2lzk7B
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 5, 2019
Cazorla’s classy contribution saw him win Arsenal’s Player of the Season accolade, while only Chelsea’s Juan Mata provided more assists (12) than the Spaniard throughout the Premier League season.
Signed for just £10m from troubled Malaga, he proved a brilliant piece of business for the rebuilding Gunners.
Midfield Magicians: Santi Cazorla, 5 foot and 4 inches of pure skill and technical brilliance
Theo Walcott (2012/13)
Arsenal had two teammates reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a Premier League season for the first time in 2012/13, as Theo Walcott joined Cazorla in achieving the feat.
Walcott had voiced a desire for a centre-forward role and ended the season with 21 goals in all competitions to be Arsenal’s leading scorer. He hit 14 goals in the Premier League, including a first hat-trick in a 7-3 thrashing of Newcastle at the Emirates.
“Walcott, twisting his way through the defence… he’s brought down isn’t he?! He keeps going… and he’s scored a hat-trick!” pic.twitter.com/Qz8Lj2MLkV
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 17, 2018
Walcott added ten assists to his career-best return of goals, despite starting just 24 league fixtures for the Gunners. He averaged a goal or assist every 95 minutes as Arsenal secured Champions League qualification.
Alexis Sanchez (2016/17)
Alexis Sanchez earned Arsenal’s Player of the Season accolade after a spectacular 2016/17 season that saw the forward score 30 goals in all competitions.
The Chilean forward became the first Arsenal player since Robin van Persie in 2011/12 to score 20+ goals in the league, with only Tottenham’s Harry Kane (29) and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (25) outscoring Sanchez (24).
That return included a hat-trick and an assist in a 5-1 win at West Ham, part of 34 goal involvements Sanchez produced across the Premier League season. He ended his campaign with silverware after FA Cup success, following a man-of-the-match performance in which he scored the opening goal in the win over Chelsea at Wembley.
Bukayo Saka (2022/23)
Bukayo Saka has become the eighth member of this exclusive club after a match-winning performance against Crystal Palace took the winger to 12 goals and ten assists this season.
The numbers continue to swell for the Arsenal academy graduate, who has evolved into one of the most decisive players in the Premier League this season.
Bukayo Saka is the first player to score 10+ goals AND provide 10+ assists in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
There’s a starboy running down the right… ???? pic.twitter.com/nM8pQLzHBr
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 19, 2023
His form has been crucial to the performances of Mikel Arteta’s side, who lead the Premier League by eight points ahead of the season’s return from the international break this weekend. It has been a campaign that has exceeded all expectations to date and could lead to a first league title in 19 years.
Few have contributed more to the club’s title challenge than Saka, who has underlined his status as one of Europe’s most exciting young talents.
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