With Bukayo Saka setting up seven goals in his opening seven Premier League matches, football writer Ben Bloom looks at whether the Arsenal winger can break the record for the most assists in a season.
To put Saka’s early-season form into context, consider this: if the Arsenal winger maintains his current rate of creativity, he would end the campaign with an extraordinary 38 assists.
While that eventuality is of course improbable, his seven assists in Arsenal’s opening seven Premier League matches mean Saka is already threatening to run away with the Playmaker of the Season award and could well break the all-time assist record for a Premier League season.
The record is jointly held by Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, who provided 20 assists each in 2002/03 and 2019/20 respectively - ominously, in seasons that did NOT end in their teams being crowned champions.
Another Arsenal star, Mesut Ozil, came agonisingly close to achieving the same feat in 2015/16 but fell one short, with 19.
Saka has now launched a record bid of his own and, as the graph below shows, he has started the season with a faster rate of assists than both Henry and Ozil, only trailing behind De Bruyne at this stage of the campaign.
In a league of his own this season
In the 569 minutes he has featured in this campaign, Saka has provided two more assists than any other player in the league – and indeed he has more than anyone across Europe’s top five leagues.
The 23-year-old also ranks top in the Premier League for Expected Assists (xA), with 3.16, chances created, with 27, and big chances created, with 12.
While his set-piece delivery has certainly been a factor, it is not only from dead-ball situations that Saka is delivering goalscoring opportunities for his Arsenal team-mates.
Both his threaded through-balls to Kai Havertz this season have come from open play, plus his impeccable deep cross to Gabriel Martinelli in the 3-1 win over Southampton, and his 17 chances created from open play rank third in the Premier League this season.
Saka's 2024/25 PL stats
| Statistic | Total | PL rank |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 7 | =1st |
| Goals | 2 | =22nd |
| Assists | 7 | 1st |
| Goals + assists | 9 | 3rd |
| Expected Assists | 3.16 | 1st |
| Chances created | 27 | 1st |
| Chances created in open play | 17 | 3rd |
| Big chances created | 12 | 1st |
“There are the stats and you cannot get away from that, and what he’s doing at his age is unbelievable,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta of Saka after Arsenal’s comeback victory against Southampton.
“He has the capacity to change and decide games like many other players. That is his maturity and it’s another step in what he wants.
“When you do it at home, do it in big games, in not so big games, and when the team needs him - that’s what defines a top, top player. If we want to be at the top, sometimes players have to create those moments and he’s certainly done that again today.”
In that dazzling display against Southampton, Saka also became the only player on record (since 2003/04) to register seven or more shots and create seven or more chances in a Premier League game more than once.
The last time he did so was in Arsenal’s previous league outing, where they beat Leicester City 4-2.
Can he surpass Arsenal greats?
Saka has now overtaken Robert Pires to move seventh on Arsenal’s all-time list for Premier League assists.
Already with 42 to his name, Saka might well expect to surpass Ozil's 54 this season to move behind only Dennis Bergkamp, Henry and Cesc Fabregas, who produced 94, 74 and 70 respectively for Arsenal.
Most PL assists for Arsenal
| Player | Assists |
|---|---|
| Dennis Bergkamp | 94 |
| Thierry Henry | 74 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 70 |
| Mesut Ozil | 54 |
| Aaron Ramsey | 46 |
| Theo Walcott | 43 |
| Bukayo Saka | 42 |
| Robert Pires | 41 |
But nothing is guaranteed. Of the six players to match or exceed Saka’s seven-assist tally at this stage of a Premier League season, only half have gone on to top the charts at the end of the campaign.
The biggest drop-off came from Paul Pogba, who began 2021/22 in scintillating fashion with seven assists in Manchester United’s opening four matches, before injuries and poor form saw him add just two more all season.
Most PL assists after seven matches
| Player | Season | After 7 matches | Final total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cesc Fabregas | 2009/10 | 8 | 13 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 2019/20 | 8 | 20 |
| Harry Kane | 2020/21 | 8 | 14 |
| Thierry Henry | 2004/05 | 7 | 14 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 2014/15 | 7 | 18 |
| Paul Pogba | 2021/22 | 7 | 9 |
| Bukayo Saka | 2024/25 | 7 | - |
Unforeseen events aside, it would be a surprise if Saka followed a similar path to Pogba.
The youngest member of Arsenal’s attacking quartet has regularly worn the captain’s armband in recent weeks and seems to be relishing his added responsibility.
His confidence is evident. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on us but I do think that this is the year [that we win the title],” Saka told CBS Sports earlier this month. “I want to win this season and, of course, I believe in myself a lot.”
