Ahead of one of the biggest Premier League games for years, where relegation-threatened West Ham host a title-chasing Arsenal, now would be a good time to compare three players who will all be fighting for the same right wing position for England at the World Cup.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has soared back from an injury in the Gunners’ last two games, scoring and assisting versus Fulham plus tapping home the elusive winner against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. However, it has not been the 24-year-old’s best campaign, as injuries and inconsistent performances have led to doubts over a starting position for England.
Saka’s club teammate Noni Madueke has seemingly become someone England manager Thomas Tuchel can trust down the right flank. Despite that, Madueke’s poor output for Arsenal this season could cost the winger a spot on the plane this summer.
Someone you cannot criticise for their output this campaign is Jarrod Bowen. The West Ham captain has been key for the Hammers all season and is on track for a third successive season achieving more than 20 goal contributions.
As the graph below shows, Bowen’s recent numbers in the Premier League have been extremely impressive, with his 18 goal contributions this season being his worst tally since 2022/23.
However, Arsenal fans would point out that Bowen has far more minutes than both Madueke and Saka in that time. In actual fact, Saka has a goal contribution every 129.3 minutes in the league since 2023/24, whereas the West Ham winger has contributed every 149.7 minutes. On average, it takes Madueke 211.5 minutes to register a goal or assist.
It must be considered, though, that Saka and Madueke are playing for a far better team – an Arsenal side who have just reached a Champions League final.
Bowen has been West Ham’s captain for the last two seasons, and despite the Hammers performing worse, his attacking threat has remained the same.
The 29-year-old is still clinical in front of goal. Bowen has outperformed his XG of 27.12 by almost 10 goals. Comparatively, Saka has scored 0.6 goals less than his XG would suggest he should have, whereas Madueke has scored 14 league goals from an XG of 13.8.
One area where Bowen’s attacking output has been the worse out of the three players is for England. The former Hull City winger has 22 caps for his country, scoring once and gaining a single assist.
This is perhaps one of the reasons England’s manager does not trust Bowen, as he is yet to play a full game under Thomas Tuchel. Contrastingly, Madueke has been used often by the German manager when fit, starting four times out of five when available. Saka has also only failed to start once out of five occasions he was fit to play.
Some may argue that Tuchel would be correct with his thought process surrounding his right wingers, as Bowen has only registered a single assist from eight appearances for the German.
On the other hand, Saka has two goals and an assist playing for Tuchel, while Madueke registered a goal and an assist. This is despite playing fewer minutes during the German’s reign because of injury.
In terms of their England careers as a whole, Saka has been by far the most impressive. The Hale End graduate played a key part in the three major international tournaments he has been involved in; notably being England’s joint-top scorer during the 2022 World Cup alongside Marcus Rashford, as well as scoring the goal that prevented England from losing to Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final.
Saka has scored 14 goals and assisted on nine occasions from his 48 caps. Comparatively, his Arsenal teammate Madueke has scored once and assisted on three occasions from his 10 appearances.
However, as the graph below shows, Madueke’s number of goal contributions for every 90 minutes of international football is superior to Saka’s. Bowen is far behind with 0.21 G/A per 90 minutes, leading many people across the country to want West Ham’s captain dropped from the squad.
Bowen would argue that he has had the best season out of the three players, which is true, but the fact he plays for West Ham would likely work against him.
The Hammers have averaged 42.7% possession this season, also posting similar numbers throughout Bowen’s time at the club. Contrastingly, England have dominated possession for most of their games under Tuchel, meaning West Ham’s winger is not trusted to create in a side that is constantly facing opposition sitting behind the ball.
However, Bowen’s supreme finishing ability should be considered when picking who starts on the right wing for England. In tight knockout games where chances come at a premium, Bowen is more likely to score a clear-cut chance than Saka and Madueke.
When you analyse everything about each of the players, Saka will most likely start on the right-hand side because of his success in major tournaments, in addition to his extremely impressive ability. The 24-year-old’s experience attacking against low-blocks plus his rapid pace, which would trouble teams on the counter-attack, means Saka can cause problems in many different types of games.
However, Bowen and Madueke will certainly be positive players to have in the squad due to their versatility. England does not have many options on the left-hand side and also lacks options to back up Harry Kane. Consequently, if they are not starting on the right wing, Bowen could be a good second-choice striker, and Madueke would be an impressive option on the left.
* Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the highlighted author/s and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy or position of KUMB.com.