Jamie O’Hara ranks two ‘world class’ midfielders ahead of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara believes Bukayo Saka is not world class and puts Chelsea’s Cole Palmer ahead of the Arsenal winger.

Saka is set to play another integral role in Arsenal’s push to win the Premier League title and has made an excellent start to the campaign with three goals and seven assists in all competitions so far.

Palmer, meanwhile, continues to be Chelsea’s star man and has already scored six goals in the Premier League this term.

O’Hara feels both Palmer and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, who was one of Spain’s star players at Euro 2024 in the summer, are ahead of Saka.

‘Bukayo Saka isn’t world class,’ O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport.

‘He’s a great player in a very good team, but I look at guys like Cole Palmer and Lamine Yamal, who in my opinion are world-class players. They’re a level above Saka – it’s as simple as that.

‘Yamal looks set to be the star man at Barcelona for the coming years and you know they’ll win trophies with him, so I’d have him over Saka for starters.

‘Palmer also looks like the best player in the Premier League, which means you can argue that he is the best player in the world.

‘I might be getting carried away there, but Palmer looks like he can do anything on a football pitch, nothing fazes him at all. As I said, Saka is a great player, but Palmer is another level.’

O’Hara also dismissed suggestions that Arsenal should be considered Premier League title favourites due to Manchester City losing Rodri through injury.

‘Let’s get this right, Arsenal are not favourites for this title – they haven’t won it for nearly 20 years!’ he said.

‘Look, they’ve started well but it’s so early on, there’s more teams that have improved this season and it won’t be a two-horse race. Arsenal fans saying it’s their year, come on, we are six weeks in.

‘Manchester City have won the Premier League four times on the bounce; they have the best starting team and squad. They are the favourites for me and will get the job done in the end, even without Rodri in their team.’

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