Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard both ranked inside the top 30 players at the Ballon d’Or on Monday night....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The draw for the 2023 Ballon d’Or is currently underway and is set to feature some of the biggest names in European football, with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland both vying for this year’s trophy…CONTINUE READING>>
After battling with Man City throughout the 2022-23 season, Arsenal fell short of winning the Premier League title, with Odegaard and Saka being stand-outs throughout the season.
They are the only two Arsenal stars set to be included in tonight’s awards, with both finishing above City’s Ruben Dias, who came in at 30th place, with Odegaard ranking joint 28th with Randal Kolo Muani, while Saka placed 24th.
Bayern Munich 20-year-old young star Jamal Musiala, who is also a target for Pep Guardiola, came 26th, with Josko Gvardiol, who was a stand-out performer at the Qatar World Cup coming in at 25th.
Next came Saka, who returned 15 goals and 11 assists across all competitions last season and was a pivotal in Arsenal’s title chase.
But the Arsenal duo finished just behind Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana who ranked 23rd, who despite a turbulent start to his career at Old Trafford, was a stand-out performance during his side’s 3-0 defeat by Man City on Sunday.
While City put three goals past their rivals, Onana pulled off several superb saves during the match.
It interestingly came after Erik ten Hag had called on his new £47million goalkeeper to step up his game, after the shot-stopper has faced backlashed for a number of shaky performances of late.
‘He [Onana] knows, we know, he will do much better,’ Ten Hag said last week. ‘Every player who’s coming into the Premier League, you need an integration period, but he has to step up.
‘Big United keepers like Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea started not too good doomed. Andre knows that it is good to know a little bit from history.
‘But we live now, we live in the future and he has to make his future by giving better performances. I’m sure he will do.
‘He showed it at Barcelona, Ajax, Inter Milan, he was in the semi-final and final of the Champions League, I’m sure he will give a great performance.’
Ballon d’Or rankings from 20-30
20th Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
21st Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
22nd – Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich)
23rd – Andre Onana (Manchester United)
24th – Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
25th – Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
26th – Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
27th – Nicola Barella (Inter Milan)
28th – Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint Germain) and Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
30th – Ruben Dias (Manchester City)…CONTINUE READING>>
