Ahead of the World Cup this summer, fans are debating what Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI should be for the tournament.
For some time now, West Ham fans have been asking why Jarrod Bowen doesn’t get more chances at international level. The winger gets called up often, but rarely gets the opportunity to show what he’s capable of from the start.
Neutrals point to Bukayo Saka as the reason why. It’s claimed the Arsenal winger is world-class and should be an England starter by default.
But Hammers fans rightly contest those claims, which are often met with disdain by others who seemingly find it difficult to accept that players who don’t play for a so-called ‘Big Six’ club can be better than players who do.
But for a while now, the stats have actually showed that there’s not much in it between Bowen and Saka. Not enough to regard Saka as a default pick on the right wing for England, anyway.
In fact, Bowen’s performances for West Ham in the Premier League almost put Saka’s for Arsenal to shame.
That’s because during that period, barring a couple of seasons when the Hammers were competing in the top-seven of the Premier League, Arsenal have been considerably better.
Saka has had the luxury of playing alongside better players in a team which is used to having more possession than its opposition each week. Bowen hasn’t had that luxury, yet his shots-per-game ratio is only marginally lower than Saka’s.
As you can see from the graphic above, Bowen has four more goals than Saka, one fewer assist, and is over-performing his xG by almost six. He’s done that while spending much of his Premier League career competing in relegation battles or in the bottom half of the table.
On top of that, Saka is Arsenal’s designated penalty taker, which has added 12 goals to his current tally. Bowen has always been behind both Mark Noble and Lucas Paqueta in the penalty-taking pecking order at London Stadium. That alone makes Bowen’s goal record far more impressive than Saka’s.
We’ve added own goals to the graphic for comedy effect only, with Saka laughably having one to his name. Somehow.
Will the debate be decided on Sunday?
Despite the above, we all know Saka will be Tuchel’s choice at the World Cup. He plays for Arsenal, after all.
But with West Ham hosting the Gunners this weekend, in a game that could have huge implications to both ends of the Premier League table, which player will come out on top?
Bowen has struggled for goals of late, having not scored in his last 11 Premier League appearances. However, since then, he’s notched eight assists, including four in his last two home league games.
Saka got a goal and an assist in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham last weekend and then scored the winner in their Champions League semi-final second-leg clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
So the Arsenal winger is hitting some good form in the final stages of the season and will be eager to continue that at London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Bowen, though, is due a Premier League goal and the Hammers captain enjoys playing against the Gunners, having scored five and assisted one in his 13 career meetings against them.
It’s going to an interesting clash on Sunday and one way or another it’ll probably decide both the title race and the relegation race in one afternoon.
Sadly, it’s unlikely to decide the Bowen v Saka debate, though.