Bukayo Saka can be Arsenal's answer to Mohamed Salah! Liverpool's Egyptian King is the benchmark - but Gunners' wing wizard's more than capable of matching Reds great & becoming Premier League's best

It's testament to Saka's talent and temperament that, at just 23 years of age, he is viewed as one of the wise old heads at Arsenal.

"He looks really mature," Arteta said after the 3-0 win over Monaco. "What he has already done in the game at his age is incredible. Very humble, a great guy to have around. He's a special person.

"In his role, his leadership is increasing. With the young kids he is amazing."

Wednesday was a case in point, with Saka dishing out some words of encouragement to 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who played a key role in the opener after becoming the youngest player to start a Champions League game for Arsenal for 13 years.

"He just needs to keep going," Saka told TNT Sports. "I'm just so proud of him. I just said to him that this is his level."

Saka's true level, of course, has previously been a hot topic of great debate.

It was Rio Ferdinand who sent Arsenal Twitter into meltdown in March by claiming that Saka wasn't yet "world-class".

It's obviously a ridiculously subjective term, open to innumerable interpretations, but the former Manchester United defender had a point.

Or, at least, you could see what he was trying to say: Saka hadn't yet made anything like the same impact on the Champions League as some of his peers, such as Vinicius Junior.

He's starting to, though.

Having been held back by Arsenal's status as a Europa League club for the majority of his young career, Saka is now making the most of his belated chance to shine on the club game's grandest stage.

Since the start of last season (Saka's debut campaign), only Harry Kane (18) and Vinicus (16) have been involved in more goals than the Arsenal attacker, who has scored eight and created a further six - in just 14 appearances.

The challenge for Saka is maintaining that impressive ratio in the games that really matter, or what Ferdinand called "the nitty-gritty stages" of the tournament.

As even Arteta acknowledged: "You have to be able to do that consistently throughout many years to put yourself in that position [to be called world-class].

"We can talk about what he's done in his first six years of professional football, which is exceptional. But his aim is to improve, and I think he has the players and environment to continue to do that, so I'm sure he will."

There's no denying that Arsenal look like serious Champions League contenders this season, with Arteta's side third in the table and likely to seal a top-eight finish with one round to spare.

And yet doubts persist.

Both Saka and Arsenal were shut down with worrying ease by a Bayern Munich side in total turmoil under Thomas Tuchel during the two teams' quarter-final clash in April, while they've also drawn blanks against both Atalanta and Inter in this season's league phase.

In that sense, this feels like a potentially defining season for Arsenal, Arteta and Saka - especially when one considers that, in the Premier League, it is Liverpool and Chelsea who rather surprisingly look better placed right now to take advantage of Manchester City's miserable form.

Even club legend Alan Smith has admitted that he has doubts over Saka's long-term future at the Emirates if the Gunners don't start winning major trophies.

"It's hard to say whether I think he’ll stay at Arsenal [for life]," the former striker told Mega Dice, "as it always depends on where the club is and if they’re challenging for honours.

"If they are, then a lot of top-class players - and Saka falls into that category - will feel like there's no need to move. But if there’s a dip in the club’s fortune..."

The coming weeks and months will be decisive - which is just what Saka needs to be for Arsenal.

For all the praise coming Arne Slot's way right now, and the improvement in so many Liverpool players on his watch, there's simply no disguising the fact that Mohamed Salah is the main reason why the Reds are top of both the Premier League and the Champions League.

He may not get much love during awards season but Salah is adored at Anfield because of his ability to influence games that he isn't even playing particularly well in.

For example, on only two occasions in this season's Premier League has the Egypt international failed to contribute either a goal or assist. That's a remarkable record across 14 games but it's a standard that Saka undoubtedly has the potential to reach.

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has even claimed that there is already nothing to choose between the pair, recently quipping that it would be like having to pick between "a Lamborghini and an Aston Martin". Salah has been posting ridiculous numbers for seven years, though, whereas Saka's only just getting started.

Still, just like Salah, Saka is renowned for his work ethic, on and off the pitch, and becoming such an inspirational character that he's even been touted as a potential future England captain - which is a fair shout given he was one high-profile player in the Three Lions squad to step up at Euro 2024.

There's also no reason to think that Saka won't continue to improve in his mid-20s, just as Salah did after moving from England to Italy before then returning to the Premier League with Liverpool.

As Thierry Henry has pointed out, the progress Saka has already made since first emerging at the Emirates has been staggering.

"He's my favourite player but I never thought he would reach the levels we are seeing," the Gunners icon told BBC Football Focus. "I remember when he started he was playing wing-back and the evolution of his game is outstanding because he's gone from just being so lively to now scoring goals and assists."

To become the best player in the Premier League, though, he'll have to continue doing so on a season-by-season basis - while also lifting trophies.

Saka is clearly the Gunners' game-changer - the question is whether he can become Arsenal's answer to Mohamed Salah too?